Food delivery service provider Uber Eats Taiwan yesterday said that it would not change its business model in the short term, even though the Ministry of Labor on Monday said that food deliverers’ are employees rather than contractors.
The company said that it still considers delivery drivers to be contractors, because they can freely and flexibly decide when to work via its service platform.
“We hope that the government will discuss with all relevant stakeholders, including platform operators, and create regulations that protect the interests of delivery workers, but also allow this innovative service to prosper,” Uber Eats said in a statement.
The Labor Standards Act (勞基法) stipulates that food couriers are subject to the maximum daily working hours, must have one fixed day off per week and are entitled to double pay on national holidays.
They must also take a 30-minute break after riding for four consecutive hours, the act says.
Uber Eats said that the labor regulations barely fit its business model, as drivers are allowed to set their own work hours and have the right to refuse orders.
Delivery personnel are also not required to wear uniforms or check their attendance online, a corporate communications officer said by telephone.
Uber Eats said that it would maintain its delivery service and relationship with its drivers until further discussions with the ministry, but added that it remains committed to making food deliveries a safe experience for couriers and would continue to raise road safety awareness with its “delivery partners.”
Foodpanda Taiwan Co (富胖達) also said that it does not plan to make existing contractors employees, regardless of the ministry’s announcement.
The company said in a statement that it regrets the ministry’s decision and said that its drivers are independent contractors who use its platform’s resources and get paid per delivery by utilizing their time in a flexible and effective way.
Foodpanda would not make any changes to its business model at the moment and has no plan to pay labor insurance for its food couriers, the statement said.
However, the company said that it provides third-party insurance packages for all of its riders with better terms than labor insurance offers.
The company’s practices are fully compliant with Taiwan’s laws based on a study it conducted prior to entering the market in 2012, the statement said.
Foodpanda has since hired about 100,000 contract riders, it added.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
DOMESTIC SUPPLY: The probe comes as Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the US$52.7 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which the US Congress passed in 2022 The Office of the US Trade Representative is to hold a hearing tomorrow into older Chinese-made “legacy” semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from cars to washing machines to telecoms equipment. The probe, which began during former US president Joe Biden’s tenure in December last year, aims to protect US and other semiconductor producers from China’s massive state-driven buildup of domestic chip supply. A 50 percent US tariff on Chinese semiconductors began on Jan. 1. Legacy chips use older manufacturing processes introduced more than a decade ago and are often far simpler than
STILL HOPEFUL: Delayed payment of NT$5.35 billion from an Indian server client sent its earnings plunging last year, but the firm expects a gradual pickup ahead Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s No. 5 PC vendor, yesterday reported an 87 percent slump in net profit for last year, dragged by a massive overdue payment from an Indian cloud service provider. The Indian customer has delayed payment totaling NT$5.35 billion (US$162.7 million), Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) told an online earnings conference. Asustek shipped servers to India between April and June last year. The customer told Asustek that it is launching multiple fundraising projects and expected to repay the debt in the short term, Wu said. The Indian customer accounted for less than 10 percent to Asustek’s
Gasoline and diesel prices this week are to decrease NT$0.5 and NT$1 per liter respectively as international crude prices continued to fall last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to decrease to NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$27.9 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.7 at Formosa pumps, the companies said in separate statements. Global crude oil prices dropped last week after the eight OPEC+ members said they would
RSS