TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s food delivery workers union is calling on the government to better regulate working conditions and has called for a revision to laws, specifically targeting limits to working hours.

Delivery drivers, legislators, and city councilors held a public hearing in Tainan on Tuesday (April 11) to discuss a range of issues. Director of the National Delivery Industry Union Arery Chen (陳昱安) told Taiwan News the main issue the drivers want addressed is the 12 hour limit to their working day.

“There is currently no recognized labor relationship for food delivery drivers,” Chen said. “It isn’t an employment relationship, so there shouldn’t be restrictions on working hours.”

Delivery drivers say limits to their working hours make earning a sufficient wage difficult, as remuneration keeps being reduced by delivery platforms. One delivery worker named Huang (黃) said that his salary has nearly halved since he began working as a food delivery driver three years ago, per CNA.

Huang said a 12-hour work day once earned him approximately NT$100,000 (US$3,280) per month. Now the platform he delivers for has reduced the baseline remuneration per order from NT$120 to NT$44, his pay has nearly halved. “Even though I’m working harder to receive orders, my monthly income is now only about NT$50,000,” he said.

Chen said national regulations are yet to be adopted, and local governments regulate the conditions for food delivery drivers. Despite that, the local regulations have little impact on the way food delivery platforms operate, he said.

“The upper limit a platform can be fined for not adhering to the regulations is NT$100,000 (US$ 3,275), which has little effect on them, and the self-government regulations of each county and city are different,” Chen said. He said this has resulted in insufficient protection for workers throughout Taiwan.

Chen said that while workers want the daily work limit removed, it is important the government also sets up supporting regulations, so delivery platforms cannot arbitrarily change pay for deliveries. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the union said baseline delivery fees could follow the model used for taxi fares, and surcharges could be added for public holidays.

The delivery drivers’ union has also highlighted the lack of adequate insurance for Taiwan’s food delivery drivers, calling insurance arrangements “fragmented.” The union said some drivers are only insured once an order has been received, and will not receive cover if they are injured or involved in a collision while looking for a job.

In a statement provided to Taiwan News, Uber Eats said that drivers are insured under a group policy and that only drivers who have completed at least one delivery within the 14 days before an incident are covered.

Uber Eats said they support removing the daily working hour limit, and said the company also believes this change would benefit drivers. In response to driver complaints of low pay, Uber Eats said that drivers are paid according to market rates. “We continue to pay attention to delivery partners' earnings and market development for assessment,” the statement said.

According to a Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MCI) report, 71% of Taiwanese consumers use food delivery services, with Uber Eats and Foodpanda taking the majority market share.