Around 270 riders working for food delivery platform Keeta have gone on strike to protest what they called an “unfair” system that has seen their earnings reduced.
In Central, Keeta riders gathered from 9 am on Thursday, a rider who declined to share their name told HKFP on Thursday.
At least 200 delivery workers took the day off work in protest, the rider said, representing 95 per cent of riders in Central.
See also: How Hongkongers fuel Chinese app Keeta’s dominance in city’s food delivery market
At around noon, an HKFP reporter saw over 20 riders with their motorcycles on Wo On Lane. They held up signs reading “No fair fees, no food for customers,” “Riders are part of Keeta’s business, be fair to riders,” and in Chinese, “We’re deliverymen, not drones.”
Riders passed out a statement to reporters urging higher pay, saying that Keeta riders have seen reduced earnings due to the company cutting order fees around a month ago.
“We Central riders are sick of Keeta’s unfair work system… and we are on strike [for the] whole day today to show our refusal to tolerate Keeta’s continuous order fee reduction and mistreatment of riders,” the statement read.
The riders demanded a minimum fee of HK$50 per order, proper contracts for riders, and the cancellation of “first-come” orders, which distract workers on the road by making them fight for orders and increases the risk of traffic accidents.
They also urged Keeta to crack down on illegal workers by verifying riders’ identities on a daily basis.
HKFP has reached out to Keeta for a response.
Owned by Chinese tech giant Meituan, Keeta launched in Hong Kong in May 2023 and has grown steadily in market share. It is one of two delivery apps in the city, after British company Deliveroo exited Hong Kong in early April. Keeta’s sole competitor is Singapore-based company Foodpanda.
’20 to 30%’ drop in order fees
Across the harbour in Hung Hom and To Kwa Wan, around 70 riders logged off their Keeta apps during the peak lunch hours of 11 am to 2 pm.
At noon, about 40 of them gathered under a flyover holding up protest signs. Among them was Hei, who told HKFP he has been a delivery worker for five years and joined Keeta two years ago, when it launched in Hong Kong.
“The order fee has continued to drop over the past month. It has been lowered by 20 to 30 per cent,” Hei, who gave only his first name, said.
“Nobody knows how Keeta calculates our order fees. It’s not like taxi hires, for which fees are calculated based on the trip’s distance,” he said in Cantonese.
Hei said while a cross-district order such as delivering from Hung Hom to Tsim Sha Tsui used to pay more than HK$60, the payment has been cut to around HK$50.
And while riders once earned around HK$50 for delivery orders within the district, they now make HK$30 to HK$40, Hei added.
Strikes in multiple districts
Thursday’s strike is the latest in a series of demonstrations by Keeta riders. Last Friday, as well as on Monday and Tuesday this week, workers in Central staged strikes during the peak lunch hours.
Riders in other districts have also gone on strike demanding better treatment from Keeta over the past two weeks. The demonstrations include a protest in Kwai Chung in late April, as well as one in Tsuen Wan and another in Kowloon City last week.
HKFP reported last month that Keeta employed a growth-before-profit strategy when it entered the Hong Kong market, attracting customers by offering discounts on meals.
It had secured a 44 per cent share of the food delivery market by order volume in March 2024, one year following its launch.
