Uber Eats Sued for Fraud Over Taiwan Driver Pay
By Howard Chang/Irene Lin
Delivery platform giant Uber Eats is facing legal action in Taiwan after delivery driver unions filed fraud charges, alleging the company failed to abide by the newly enacted Delivery Industry Rights Act. Drivers claim that Uber Eats manipulated payout calculations for stacked, multi-order trips on the August 6 payday, cutting their earned time by nearly half. Taiwan's labor ministry confirmed Uber Eats violated statutory calculation guidelines, prompting the platform to promise to back pay riders by late August, while simultaneously introducing new customer service fees starting this Friday.
A few weeks after a special law protecting fair pay for delivery drivers took effect in Taiwan... one of the world's largest food delivery platforms, Uber Eats, is now suspected of defrauding its riders here.
A group of drivers is suing the platform for failing to pay them in line with the new law.
SU PO-HAO, SPOKESPERSON, TAIWAN DELIVERY INDUSTRY RIGHTS ALLIANCE:
"Uber Eats kept telling us that it would use the law to calculate our payment. But when the agreed August 6th payday came, they didn’t even use the right method and made up an explanation saying its method aligns with the new law. We think we’ve all been scammed. That’s why we’re angry."
And the numbers don’t lie. Let’s say a driver accepts two separate orders from the same restaurant in one trip...
By the Uber Eats calculation, delivery time is split between the two orders from when they were accepted to when they’re delivered. Only the extra seven minutes after the first dropoff is counted in full.
The correct calculation by law sees each order individually... so both the first and second orders count as 25 minutes each, plus the extra time traveling to its dropoff location, adding up to nearly double what Uber Eats would pay.
Drivers say the company has refused to communicate directly with them since announcing the case.
SU PO-HAO, SPOKESPERSON, TAIWAN DELIVERY INDUSTRY RIGHTS ALLIANCE:
"Uber Eats has cut off all contact with us. It has even rejected calls from our existing contact channel. For now, we’ll see what happens in court."
In its latest statement on Wednesday, Uber Eats says it will adjust its payment system and back pay delivery drivers by the end of August.
Taiwan's labor ministry says it's closely monitoring the situation and supports the drivers in this case.
HUANG CHUN-YU, EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS, LABOR MINISTRY:
"Uber Eats indeed didn't comply with the law that requires it to record time spent on each order accurately. If the platform doesn't pay its couriers exactly how it should it would be a clear violation of the law’s Article 3, Subparagraph 13, and Article 5. The ministry will continue to monitor Uber's legal compliance."
It’s customers who will be bearing the cost of the new payment system. Starting this Friday, there will be an added service fee per order of up to six Taiwanese dollars or 19 US cents.
TaiwanPlus has reached out to Uber Eats for comment but has not heard back.
For now, some delivery drivers say they're taking a break from the platform until they’re paid what’s rightly theirs.
