Now tightens bonus payments for drivers

Hundreds of Now drivers gathered at the headquarters to protest the new bonus policy

Local food delivery company Now is receiving protests from its drivers because of its new bonus payment policy. In the morning of August 12, hundreds of drivers gathered at Now’s headquarters in Hanoi to protest the company cutting their bonus payments.

Specifically, under the new rules, drivers have to get at least 1,801 points to reach the second level (instead of 450 points or 40 rides as before), after which a driver gets about VND26,000 ($1.13) of bonus payment (instead of VND52,000 [$2.26]) for reaching 101 points a day.

Protesting drivers claim the new arrangement makes it impossible for first-level drivers (the majority of part-time drivers) to get a bonus as reaching the second level has been made far too difficult, “forcing drivers to ride about 14-15 hours a day without days off,insurance coverage, or any sort of social welfare.”

Meanwhile, Now’s representative said the new policy helps improve drivers’ incomes and injects a larger measure of stability, while the impact will mostly go to drivers working irregularly.

After the protest on August 12, a group of shippers who remain dissatisfied with the policy continued to protest on a few streets in Hanoi.

“The old bonus payment was applied for a long time but socioeconomic fluctuations are forcing us to adapt and be more flexible. This is a time to be flexible,” said Now’s representative. “Along with keeping pace with market dynamics, the policy will hopefully be a motivation for drivers.”

The policy was officially applied in Ho Chi Minh City on July 29 and Hanoi on August 12. Now also asserted that it sent representatives to work with drivers to get them on board right after the protests.

“Discussing with the drivers to help them understand the core issue behind the change has taken a long time, leaving some of them frustrated,” added Now’s representative.

To set a foothold in the market, newcomers to the ride-hailing game accept to spend large amounts of money, including on high bonus payments to get a large fleet of drivers.

Sharing at a forum for drivers, a shipper at Now said that his income was previously about VND15 million ($650) a month, but with the new policy, this could drop to a half.