More work, less pay? The worries of Shopee Indonesia’s couriers

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Hello readers,

I’ve written before about the spike in my usage of apps like Grab for food delivery in the midst of pandemic lockdown measures. For better or worse, that frequency has stayed the same, especially since Singapore entered a “heightened awareness” phase a couple of weeks ago.

(To be frank – and I’m calling myself out publicly here – it’s definitely been for the worse. I eat too much pizza for my own good.)

But while I fret about my waistline, delivery partners and couriers of various companies are sweating it out on the roads, moving food and parcels. It’s tough work, and that’s why Shopee couriers in Indonesia are getting disgruntled over earnings scheme changes that appear to pay them less.

Today, we look at:

• Shopee Express couriers in Indonesia bemoan earnings scheme adjustments
• A Chinese surgical instrument company closes a US$15.7 million series D
• Other newsy highlights such as Lazada’s leadership changes and the fast-forwarded IPO plans of Chinese private education companies

— Winston

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Who moved my cheese?

How would you react if you were told to do more work for less pay? That seems to be the predicament that the Indonesian couriers of Shopee Express – the logistics arm of the ecommerce giant – are facing after the company made changes to its earnings scheme.

• History of trade deals: A Shopee Express courier based in South Jakarta told Tech in Asia that couriers are now expected to deliver more packages per day – 40 instead of the previous 30 – for the same amount of money. Further, the bonus fee, which they earn if they deliver more than 40 packages, went down roughly by half.
• Seniority matters: The same courier also mentioned that senior staff can choose small packages and short delivery distances, so they can deliver more packages in a day. Beginner couriers often get the “leftover” packages, which are usually larger and have lengthier delivery distances.
• Adverse effects: Researcher David Hill, in discussing the impact of Amazon’s marketplace and logistics business on people, has pointed out that a reliance on contract “partners” over full-time employees leads to lower wages, lower quality of workers, and an increase in the intensity of the monotonous work imposed on freelancers.

Read more: Shopee’s logistics arm hits speed bump as some workers lament low wages

A surgical insertion of US$15.7 million

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