Motorcycle riders (partner-riders) in the courier services industry are perhaps one of society's modern-day heroes. In this time of the pandemic, they've been delivering essentials to those who can’t go out, sometimes serving as the lifeline of these people.
On a busy day, partner-riders shared, one has the potential to take home as much as PhP2,000 (net) per day, or maybe more, if he or she is hard-working enough to take as many bookings as possible within the maximum permitted time. But, like any other job, being part of the courier services industry is far from perfect.
Just recently, Lalamove partner-riders have been split on the topic of one of Lalamove’s policies. This policy requires Lalamove’s partner-riders to pay a monthly PhP200 rent for the Lalabag (the orange square bag they carry) as long as the rider works for Lalamove.
While the PhP200 may be trivial for some, many consider it a heavy amount to shoulder, especially during these trying times. They argue, that a year’s worth of rent amounts to PhP2,400. This could be spent on more important things, like 50 kilos of rice or infant formula (milk). Also, according to the disgruntled partner-riders, Lalamove is already charging them a 20% pay cut for every booking.
To put it in more concrete terms, if the booking fee amounts to PhP100, Lalamove takes PhP20. For a PhP1,000-worth booking, Lalamove will get a PhP200 cut and so on.
Then there are those who are on the other side of the coin – riders who are ok with the policy and think that the monthly PhP200 Lalabag rent is justified. According to them, so long as they give their 100% to the job, it's all going to be fine.
“Mag 1 year pa lang ako kay Lalamove. Base sa experience ko, kada buwan na 200 deduction. It’s a not a big deal sakin, kaya kong byahien ng PAID BY LALA yan mawala lang yan negative [sa] wallet ko (I’m working for almost a year with Lalamove now. Based on my experience, the PhP200 monthly deduction is not a big deal for me. I can make up for it by taking bookings “paid by Lalamove” [transaction paid in advance by the client which will then be paid by Lalamove to the rider] and it will disappear from my [electronic Lalamove] wallet),” said one of the riders on social media.
MotoPinas.com has tried to reach the management of Lalamove for a comment and has not replied to our messages as of this writing.
Do you feel that a monthly PhP200 rental fee is justified? Should it be higher, lower, or nonexistent? Let us know in the comments.
