The Sharing Economy Association Taiwan (SEAT) yesterday released its proposed code of conduct for food-delivery platform operators, which was signed by four out of five of the platforms.
The working conditions for food-delivery workers are under scrutiny following the deaths of several drivers in traffic accidents.
The National Development Council on Sunday hosted a meeting of representatives of delivery platforms and government agencies to discuss ways of better protecting delivery couriers and ensuring that food orders are not contaminated during delivery.
Photo: CNA
Representatives of the association, which represents UberEats, GoGoVan, Deliveroo, Foodpanda, Lalamove and other providers, agreed that it would start to draft its own code of conduct.
The proposed code of conduct addresses couriers’ safety and the quality of delivered food, and was signed by all but Foodpanda.
“We are glad that food-delivery platform operators — Uber Eats, Deliveroo, GoGoVan and Lalamove — could reach a consensus on the importance of having a code of conduct. We hope this document will serve as the basis of discussions with government officials and the public,” association chairman Andy Peng (彭仕邦) said.
Under the proposed code, food operators agreed that their delivery workers must have valid motor vehicle licenses and agreed to share some of the consumer data they collect with transportation officials and law enforcement agencies to help reduce road safety risks, on condition that it would not invade the privacy of the users and is permissible by law.
Under the code, couriers would be urged not to speed while making deliveries, to ignore their smartphones and pay attention to road conditions.
Platform operators also agreed to suspend or adjust their service based on Central Weather Bureau (CWB) announcements about typhoons or other abnormal weather to protect their delivery workers.
However, the code would not require delivery workers to have labor or health insurance before accepting a delivery.
“All the platform operators are having trouble finding insurance that suits their delivery workers. We will continue to work with the Financial Supervisory Commission and other government agencies, as well as non-profit associations, to develop insurance that works for both platform operators and delivery workers,” Peng said.
Announcement of the proposed code came one day after the Directorate-General of Highways fined Deliveroo and Quickpick NT$500,000 each for failing to complete registration procedures for a transportation business before providing service, and ordered them to shut their operations immediately.
Six delivery platforms earlier this month were fined NT$9,000 each for failing to ensure that their couriers were properly trained in road safety, failing to monitor traffic violations committed by their couriers, and failing to purchase vehicle liability insurance and have their delivery vehicles checked annually by motor vehicle offices.
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we