Page 12 - Voice and representation of platform driver in VietNam

6 CHAPTER 2: Defining the relationship of platforms and drivers

CHAPTER 2: DEFINING THE RELATIONSHIP OF PLATFORMS AND DRIVERS

2.1. Platform drivers and riders in Vietnam: Who Second, 84.5 percent of platform workers claimed
are they? their work in the gig economy was their only and full-
time job at the time of survey. The average working
A online voluntary survey carried out by Grab Vietnam hours of these full-time drivers/riders for the platforms
in 2020 described three types of drivers based on their was 75.6 hours per week, nearly double the standard
working hours: (i) the professional driver-partner – those 48 hours per week adopted by the Grab survey. The
22
working on a full-time basis (192 hours per month or working hours include time spent on active driving and
more), (ii) casual driver-partners – those working on a waiting for jobs. Depending on the allocation of orders
part-time basis (fewer than 192 hours per month, but by the apps, the drivers/riders may have to wait a few
above zero hours per month) and (iii) ad-hoc driver- minutes or a few hours between rides.
partners – those working on irregular, ad-hoc basis (at
times, zero hours in a given month). With the sample
of more than 7,000 partners, this survey found that the Third, the survey found a strong influx of workers from
vast majority of driver-partners worked on a part-time, the formal and semi-formal, traditional sectors into the
casual basis (84.5 percent of the sample). These drivers gig economy, especially during the pandemic year of
are described as younger (under 26 years old) with a 2020. As much as 62.5 percent of platform drivers used
23
tertiary education and have other employment outside to work for enterprises and household businesses.
of the gig economy (Grab 2020). More than one-third of these workers lost their previous
jobs due to COVID-19, while the remainder hoped to
generate more income from platform work. The self-
Our survey conducted between December 2020 and employed and students make up the second and third
February 2021 painted a different demographic picture biggest groups in the sample.
of platform workers. First, younger workers (18-25
years old) accounted for only one-fifth of the sample. Figure 2: Prior occupations of platform drivers (%)
More than half of the platform workers fell into the age
group of 26-40 (Figure 1). This finding is in line with a
global survey by ILO in 2017, which showed that more Source: Survey of platform riders and drivers in Vietnam
than 60 percent of crowd workers were aged 26-40 (n=355)
years (ILO 2017).
PRIOR OCCUPATIONS
Figure 1: Distribution of platform workers by age groups
(%) 11.5
Students
Source: Survey of platform riders and drivers in Vietnam
(n=355) 62.5
70.0 Employees in companies/household business
60.0 58.0
50.0 22.5
Self-employed
40.0
%
30.0 2.0
20.6 21.1
20.0
10.0 The urge for drivers to make regular and liveable incomes
0.3
0.0 accounted for more than 70 percent of the surveyed
18-25 26-40 41-60 >60 platform drivers with one to two children (Figure 3).
Also, 59 percent of drivers were migrants in Hanoi
Ages
and Ho Chi Minh City, living in rented accommodation
(Figure 4).

22 In accordance with the 2008 Transportation Law (Art. 65), a taxi driver is not allowed to drive continuously for more than four hours and not
more than 10 hours per day.
23 The researchers were not able to check whether the household businesses (such as restaurants, small garment workshops) were registered.
Therefore, we refer to these household businesses as ‘semi-formal’.

Voice and representation of platform drivers in Vietnam