Voicing their opinions at the seminar, numerous app-based ride-hailing drivers noted that although platforms refer to them as “partners” and they ostensibly possess the right to manage their own time, they still endure immense pressure regarding income, grueling working hours, plus exorbitant vehicle operation costs.
These drivers, therefore, strongly desire to enjoy appropriate welfare policies, especially mandatory social insurance, while concurrently securing additional support for their vehicles alongside green transition expenses.
“We earnestly request that functional authorities explicitly define the legal standing of ride-hailing drivers and formulate policies to guarantee equal rights, because this specific job is currently creating a livelihood for numerous laborers, including those lacking vocational training opportunities, single mothers, plus individuals struggling to find stable employment,” petitioned Vice Chairman Pham Minh Son of the HCMC App-based Motorbike Taxi Union.
Drawing heavily from her own grueling work experience, Ms. Le Thi Tuyet Hoa, a driver who is currently nearly 8 months pregnant, shared that after 8 years of navigating the ride-hailing sector, she hasn’t yet been permitted to participate in mandatory social insurance. Despite being heavily pregnant, she still grinds out 10 to 12 hours of work every single day, with certain periods where she only manages to snag approximately 4 hours of sleep. She deeply hopes that app-based ride-hailing drivers will soon be enrolled in mandatory social insurance, thereby securing a vital safety net for sickness, maternity, and their twilight years.
On the corporate front, Director Hoang Cong Huan of Business Development and Strategic Projects at Be Group reported that Be is currently deploying a three-tier welfare framework, namely guaranteeing livelihoods, boosting autonomous capacity, and providing long-term protection for driver partners.
According to Be, in HCMC, for every VND100,000 (approximately $4) paid by customers, drivers pocket 69.4 percent, Be retains 23.9 percent, while taxes account for 6.7 percent. Meanwhile, in Hanoi, these respective proportions sit at 63.6 percent, 30.3 percent, plus 6.1 percent. This revenue-sharing mechanism has been meticulously maintained since 2024 and is officially committed to remaining entirely unchanged over the upcoming 24 months.
Furthermore, the enterprise covers 100 percent of accident insurance over a 5-year span for its 10,000 highest-ranked partners. Regarding the pressing proposal to mandate social insurance, Be fundamentally supports expanding the coverage of social welfare, but argues that authorities must carefully consider the unique characteristics of platform-based gig labor.
The enterprise advocates researching a contribution mechanism tailored to the actual level of activity or real-world income, rolling it out along a phased roadmap that transitions from health insurance plus accident coverage toward comprehensive, long-term welfare policies.
According to Vice Chairman Phung Thai Quang of the HCMC Labor Federation, a targeted survey of 141 ride-hailing drivers revealed that 93.6 percent view it as their primary occupation. Alarmingly, 73.8 percent have previously encountered severe accidents, while over 65 percent have reportedly faced rampant scams, blatant robbery, or distressing harassment while working.
Meanwhile, because they’re legally classified as platform “partners,” these drivers currently fall completely outside the mandatory scope for social plus health insurance participation. Roughly 73.4 percent exclusively rely on household health insurance or labor union support, while a substantial number still haven’t joined any insurance scheme whatsoever.
Furthermore, 92.9 percent of drivers strongly desire much clearer professional plus legal status; concurrently, 87.9 percent crave a suitable mechanism to participate in social insurance policies ensuring their livelihoods are adequately protected.
Bringing vital statistics from a comprehensive survey of 400 drivers, Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Duc Loc, Director of the Social Life Research Institute, noted that tech drivers’ working hours are steadily creeping up, yet their income hasn’t surged correspondingly. Therefore, it’s absolutely crucial to clarify the main relationship between drivers plus platforms. There’s a need to ensure complete transparency regarding revenue or expenditure components, while simultaneously establishing a robust mechanism protecting workers from perpetually extending shifts just to scrape by.
Regarding social insurance, Deputy Director Nguyen Quoc Thanh of HCMC Social Security voiced that the fundamental solution involves researching the inclusion of gig workers who secure stable income via digital platforms, including app-based ride-hailing drivers, into the mandatory social insurance bracket. By doing so, laborers will officially possess a concrete mechanism guaranteeing their rights when encountering unforeseeable risks or reaching retirement age.
In the immediate future, it’s desperately necessary thorough surveys covering total driver numbers, operational modalities, real income, plus their current insurance participation status. Furthermore, dramatically bolster coordination among management agencies, social security bodies, and platform enterprises must be carried out to forge policies closely mirroring reality.
According to Chairman Nguyen Van Hau of the Vietnam Lawyers’ Commercial Arbitration Center, the complex relationship between platforms and drivers shouldn’t merely rely on a contract’s superficial title but must inevitably be evaluated based on its practical essence. The 2019 Labor Code clearly stipulates that any agreement containing provisions on paid employment plus subjecting laborers to management can firmly be determined as a labor contract.
Since platforms still wield absolute power to dictate fare prices, allocate trips, plus suspend accounts, they clearly demonstrate remarkably substantial dominance. Consequently, the State desperately needs to promulgate standardized contracts, strictly stipulating minimum benefits alongside completely transparent frameworks for handling complaints.
