Hundreds of Go-Viet drivers recently surrounded the company's offices in District 3 and 4 to protest recent changes to the ride-hailing company’s policy.
According to VnExpress, on the morning of July 18, over 300 Go-Viet drivers switched off their apps to congregate at the company’s headquarters at the intersection between Nguyen Dinh Chieu and Truong Dinh streets in District 3. Hundreds of drivers also gathered at Go-Viet’s other office in District 4.
Before the policy change, a Go-Viet driver could get a bonus of VND30,000, VND90,000 or VND180,000 at the end of the day if they respectively scored 10, 18 or 28 points within one day. Each ride is worth one point, and each rush-hour ride — from 6am to 9am and 5pm to 8pm — were worth two points.
However, as of July 18, the three bonus rates and the required points changed to a bonus of VND40,000, VND120,000 or VND240,000 if the driver obtains an end-of-day score of 40, 64 or 80. Each normal ride will count as two points and each rush-hour ride will count as four points.
In response to the strike, on the same morning, representatives from Go-Viet said that the changes also come with a surge-pricing policy, which will increase the income for their drivers. The new rates, according to Go-Viet’s announcement, are dictated by market forces and technology changes.
“In the new program, the driver’s base income will increase thanks to the surge pricing feature. We came up with this new calculation using an algorithm to help create a stable source of income for drivers,” said the ride-hailing company in a press release, adding that it will not make changes to the new policy. Many drivers seem to be unsatisfied with the company’s explanation, as the strike continued until the afternoon.
“Even with the surge pricing policy the new bonus rates are still too hard and it’s likely that we can’t make as many bonuses compared to the past because it requires so many more rides. You can increase the points required for bonuses, but don’t increase so many all at once,” Nguyen, a Go-Viet driver who joined the strike, told VnExpess.
[Photo by H. Mai via Thanh Nien]
