MANILA, Philippines – Grab Philippines clarified on Tuesday, November 15, that there had been “structural changes” in the way its delivery partners were compensated – thus giving some the impression that they were not earning as much as they should – but there were in fact no major changes in the amount they took home.

On average, Grab drivers continued earning above minimum wage consistently, but because of the nature of their work, compensation could vary significantly, said Grab Philippines country head Grace Vera Cruz in a media briefing.

“We are looking out for all our delivery partners. That’s actually part of our own KPIs (key performance indicators): how much they earn, what do they earn on a per-hour, per-day basis. We really care about that,” she said.

Following a press briefing on Grab’s social protection program, Rappler spoke with Vera Cruz regarding the “unity ride” held by nearly 100 Grab delivery riders in Cebu City on November 10 to raise concerns over alleged cuts in delivery pay and a lack of dialogue between riders and the platform’s management.

In an earlier Rappler report, Grab administrators said that many of the protesting drivers were no longer delivery partners.

“There are people that work harder, there are people that don’t. Siyempre (Of course), the people that work harder, you won’t see them protesting because that’s just the way the gig system works in general,” Vera Cruz said.

When asked about the limited consultations between Grab drivers and management, Vera Cruz said they hold a forum with drivers every day.

“We have a dedicated team that does engagement. If you’re not a Grab driver, siguro mahirap talaga to reach Grab,” Vera Cruz said. (If you’re not a Grab driver, it probably is hard to reach Grab.)

While Grab acknowledged that they could always improve their engagement with drivers, the difficulty lay in considering the interests of all the app’s stakeholders. 

“As a consumer, because life is getting harder, you of course want to lower deliveries. As drivers, they want higher deliveries,” Vera Cruz said. “You have to balance it all the time.”

Social protection program

Tuesday’s briefing was held alongside an event attended by thousands of riders and their families who signed up for Grab’s social protection program. Representatives from Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Social Security System (SSS), and Pag-IBIG Fund set up booths to aid drivers in signing up for the government’s social welfare services.

Grab drivers, who are classified as self-employed, must register and contribute to these government social protection programs independently, but Grab pledged to subsidize the first-month contribution of the first 1,000 drivers who had signed up.

Though participation remains voluntary, Grab encourages all their drivers to avail themselves of these services.

“We will always encourage [availment], as Grab, or as Move It, now that they’re owned by Grab,” Vera Cruz said. “We will encourage all gig economy workers to avail of the services that the government provides.” – Rappler.com