Thailand is moving towards a minimum compensation framework for app-based delivery riders, with officials looking beyond an ongoing dispute involving Lalamove to develop rules that could eventually apply more broadly across digital platforms.
Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob said the ministry is collecting information on rider costs and payment rates to develop a minimum-rate formula.
Rather than relying only on data from Lalamove and its riders, officials plan to expand the study to other platforms and groups of workers before deciding what an appropriate benchmark should look like.
The work could eventually feed into legislation covering platform workers, a group that currently does not have a specific law directly regulating compensation in this area.
Chaichanok said discussions with the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) and the Labour Ministry have included the possibility of separating platform workers from a broader independent-worker bill and developing dedicated legislation because their work arrangements and operating costs differ from those of other self-employed workers.
That means the current disagreement over Lalamove rates may have implications beyond one company.
A pay dispute with bigger implications
The ministry is using talks between Lalamove and rider representatives as part of the process of determining what costs should be included when calculating a minimum rate. However, Chaichanok stressed that the government does not currently have the power to simply order an individual platform to increase its payments.
Instead, officials want to establish a broader standard that could later be supported by law.
The latest three-way talks between the ministry, ETDA, Lalamove and rider representatives took place on September 17. ETDA said the parties agreed in principle on the types of factors that should be considered when calculating minimum compensation, although the figures to be inserted into that formula remain unresolved.
What should riders earn?
One of the biggest disagreements is how much riders actually need to earn per kilometre.
Rider representatives are seeking a rate of 10 baht per kilometre. Their own calculation puts operating costs at 6.69 baht per kilometre, taking into account factors including fuel, vehicle wear, life insurance and other expenses, with a 400-baht minimum wage used as part of the calculation.
Lalamove disputes that methodology, arguing that the minimum wage is not an appropriate basis for calculating rider costs. The company has not agreed to the proposed 10-baht rate and is still considering its payment structure.
There is also a significant disagreement over how common very low-paying jobs are.
Rider representatives claim around 80% of jobs pay less than 3.70 baht per kilometre. Lalamove says its own data shows the figure is closer to 3%, down from around 5% cited previously.
Chaichanok said the company’s underlying operational data had not yet been submitted to the ministry for examination, meaning the competing figures have not been independently resolved.
Lalamove has indicated that it is prepared to provide information to officials, although the minister noted that companies are not currently compelled to disclose commercially sensitive data.
The ministry has also asked Lalamove to consider adjusting its rate structure so that no rider receives less than 3 baht per kilometre. The company has not agreed to that proposal and remains in the process of reviewing its rates.
Some other rider complaints have already resulted in changes. According to Chaichanok, Lalamove reduced a suspension imposed for refusing jobs from three days to one, established a hub for complaints and appeals, and introduced a choice between 5-kilometre and 10-kilometre job-radius settings.
What this could mean for other platforms
For riders working on other apps, however, the more important development is what happens next with the minimum-rate study.
Chaichanok said officials need information from a wider range of platforms and workers so that any eventual formula is not based on conditions at a single company. The ministry intends to use that broader dataset to determine which costs should count and how a minimum compensation level could be applied within a future legal framework.
The independent-worker bill had already progressed through the Council of State before the change of government, according to Matichon, but is expected to undergo further consultation and review. Discussions are now considering whether platform workers should instead be covered by separate legislation.
No minimum rate has yet been agreed, and there is no guarantee that the figures being discussed in the Lalamove talks would become the standard for other platforms.
Further discussions are expected after Chaichanok returns from the United Nations General Assembly, with the minister planning to hear separately from rider representatives and Lalamove while officials continue gathering data from elsewhere in the platform economy.
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