Senator @risahontiveros is considering to propose an audit on how popular apps like @grabph and @foodpandaPH use algorithms to manage their fleets of riders, a look into an otherwise obscure process which could show how “unfair labor practices might be codified.”
Hontiveros said this in a recorded video message that was played during an online dialogue this Saturday afternoon on how to better protect the rights and interests of riders. This was hosted by Kapatiran sa Dalawang Gulong.
“We are also studying to propose an audit of the algorithms or computer codes that are used in digital platforms to deploy or remove riders,” she said in Filipino.
“The International Labor Organization has studies on how to do these audits on apps that supervise your [performance]. These algorithms are where unfair labor practices might be codified that’s why it’s important to look into this,” she added.
She filed late last month a resolution for a senate investigation to better understand how the law can evolve to protect the interests of food delivery riders and other workers in the gig economy, who are not entitled to employee benefits since they are not considered employees
“We don’t even know how many [delivery riders] there are in the entire Philippines. [It’s] such a basic data, and yet we still can’t see it,” said lawyer Arnold de Vera, who teaches labor law in the University of the Philippines. He was the resource speaker during the event.
In asking for better social protections, he said the public should know more about how much these platforms are actually earning. To drive his point, he drew a parallel example with how collective bargaining agreements are negotiated.
“In negotiating for collective bargaining agreements, you won’t ask for everything [to the point] that the company will lose money, because you would also want the company to keep earning profits. All you want is to have a right share to what they earn,” he said in Filipino.
“We need to see that because that’s where you can gauge the share that riders get, who are actually the backbone [of the business]. It’s not the app that’s the backbone. The app is nothing without the riders.”
“What is the share that riders are getting and is that share just to the revenues earned by the company to begin with?” he asked.
The senator’s resolution came after the Inquirer released a three-part special report on why food delivery riders are not seen as employees by their digital platforms, along with the consequences and vulnerabilities that arise from not being protected by the country’s labor code.
To read more about the main points of the Inquirer report, please read the thread below:
@inquirerdotnet @InquirerBiz
@inquirerdotnet @InquirerBiz
https://twitter.com/roycanivel_inq/status/1393833369775919104
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