Abstract:
As the center of political and economic life in the Philippines, Metro Manila has long been the
main target for transportation and communications infrastructure development, attracting
business infrastructures to agglomerate in the region. This had promoted the creation of various
employment opportunities, including informal types of labor. With online food delivery work as
one of the most prominent forms of informal work today, a phenomenological research design
was employed in this qualitative study to achieve a nuanced understanding of the phenomenon of
working informally as an online food delivery rider to unravel the impacts of their working
conditions on their physical well-being and healthcare access. This was achieved by hearing out
the lived experiences of Foodpanda riders in Metro Manila. A total of 8 one-on-one, online
interviews were conducted to gather data which were also subjected to thematic analysis
afterwards. Findings show that workers primarily go to online food delivery work because of the
promises of flexibility, autonomy, and accessibility. Because of these freedoms, workers were
enticed to stay in this work despite the low and fluctuating pay. Online food delivery riders are
forcibly classified by platform companies as freelancers which deny them health and financial
protections. Their working conditions are further characterized by job insecurity, predatory labor
practices, poor road conditions, and a weak bargaining power. With all these, the workers’
healthcare access greatly diminished which positioned them at high-risk of developing
respiratory problems, musculoskeletal disorders, and heat-related illnesses, among others.
Drawing from the findings, the study ultimately recommends a tripartite social dialogue between
government bodies, platform companies, and the workers to create policies that specifically
address the concerns and promote the welfare of the workers. Future studies are encouraged to
explore the experiences of female Foodpanda riders for any similarities and differences with that
of male Foodpanda riders. The present study could also be replicated to explore the working
conditions of Foodpanda riders in other areas of the country, ideally in cities where local
ordinances that concern online delivery riders are put in place.
