Grab Blackout campaign, what is happening?

Grab riders are expected to participate in Grab Blackout today from 7am until midnight. FILE PIX

Struggling to locate Grab riders or drivers today? If you attempted to order breakfast today and noticed an unusual absence of Grab riders, it’s likely due to the ongoing Grab Blackout campaign scheduled from 7am to midnight today.

Considering this, you might want to explore alternative options for ordering your lunch and dinner as well.

Why is this happening?

Recently, Grab Malaysia implemented a revised delivery fee and bonus framework, claiming it was designed with fair compensation in mind.

It allegedly resulted in a decrease in fares for certain longer rides. However, for shorter rides, the fares experienced a significant drop, diminishing the overall value for drivers.

However, this new structure has faced criticism from Grab riders. Consequently, Grab riders across the nation have chosen to stage a strike today.

In a recent statement to local media, Grab staunchly defended its overhauled delivery fee and bonus system, which took effect on Jan 16, asserting that it is designed to provide benefits to their most active delivery partners.

The company emphasised that this adjustment ensures that bookings demanding additional time and effort are more equitably compensated.

As part of the revamped framework, base fares have been reduced, accompanied by increased incentives for peak-hour deliveries, distant pick-ups, and extended wait times for pick-up deliveries.

Grab justified these changes by citing the recent feedback from its delivery partners, who expressed concerns about longer wait times at merchants’ outlets or pick-ups located farther away.

The call for the strike, officially termed the Grab Blackout, was issued shortly after the news broke. The announcement comes with hashtags advocating for causes such as “stop bullying riders,” “return to original fares,” and “Grab is slaughtering riders.”

Riders to demand their rights from Grab

Grabfood delivery partners are set to assemble at 3pm today at various designated locations, including Quill City Mall on Jalan Sultan Ismail, Sunway Pyramid, Sogo Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman (TAR), Melawati Mall, 1 Utama Shopping Centre and Sunway Putra Mall.

Subsequently, they will form a convoy headed to the Grabfood head office (GDC) in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, with an estimated arrival time of 4pm where they will articulate their concerns before a scheduled press conference later.

In July last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was reported to have said that he would meet with all p-hailing companies to discuss issues related to the allegedly decreasing rates of pick-up and delivery.

The Prime Minister stated that he wanted to obtain direct explanations from the concerned companies regarding the situation, which was perceived as burdensome for p-hailing workers.

However, speaking to Sinar yesterday, Grab Drivers Association Malaysia president Arif Asyraf Ali said that there had been no progress so far, despite the Prime Minister’s announcement last July to help resolve the issues faced by food delivery drivers.

“This problem is getting worse now. Before this, the lowest wage payment was at the rate of RM7 but it has been decreasing to around RM4 and reduced again to around RM3.50.

“In fact, we see that there is no initiative from the government at the moment in managing the problem of this uncertain fare rate and it is really burdening the food delivery riders,” he said.