Riders embroiled in a dispute over pay and conditions with food delivery company HungryPanda in Sydney say Chinese police have summoned family members back home and even threatened to have them arrested upon return as part of a pressure campaign to stop them protesting.
The development has raised concerns about foreign interference in the protracted tussle between HungryPanda and some of its riders who say pay cuts and a lack of transparency in the app’s algorithm have pushed them to the brink.
Earlier this month, multiple Sydney-based HungryPanda riders in a group chat on the Chinese social media app WeChat began discussing plans to hold a protest or refuse to work.
On Lunar New Year eve, dozens of them signed up for switching off from work during the Lunar New Year period, which often brings a surge in activity and orders on HungryPanda.
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Jesus christ that’s fucked up.
Why would they discuss stuff like that in a messaging app monitored by the Chinese government?
While we should be weary of blaming the victims, this is actually really dumb.
Don’t they get to choose when they work? It’s conceivable they all just had other plans on Chinese New year
It’s always a security risk to hire someone with family in an authoritarian country.
It’s hungry panda, not ASIO. Calm down skippy.
