Court orders reinstatement of 131 dismissed Ninja Van riders

“By fighting for their rights, the Ninja Van workers have successfully defended their jobs and have pushed the government to commit to upholding labor rights in their workplace and in the entire platform industry.” – CTUHR

SAN PABLO CITY – Dismissed delivery riders from the logistics provider Ninja Van have won their case for reinstatement, December 19.

According to a court decision penned by the Fifth Division of the National Labor Relations Commission, Ninja Van is ordered to reinstate the 131 drivers the company dismissed for allegedly going AWOL (absence without leave) at work. The Commission ruled that the platform’s own records and statements indicate that there was no basis to consider the workers as AWOL. The NLRC also ordered Ninja Van to pay back wages to the dismissed workers, P10,000 (roughly US$169.12) in moral damages, P10,000 exemplary damages per worker, and 10 percent attorney’s fees.

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights celebrated the decision, calling it a “boost to the right to security of tenure and to freedom of association.”

“By fighting for their rights,” CTUHR said, “the Ninja Van workers have successfully defended their jobs and have pushed the government to commit to upholding labor rights in their workplace and in the entire platform industry.”

The 131 Ninja Van delivery riders were dismissed in waves between March and April 2024 by alleging that the riders were absent without leave. Ninja Van also used their Riders Performance Evaluation as a basis to terminate other employees; which the NLRC said had not been established to be company policy.

The dismissals were found to be in connection with the workers’ union organizing activities. In October 2023, the Ninja Van Riders’ Union (NVRU-FFW) tried and failed to get enough votes in their certification election. According to labor laws, NVRU-FFW had until April 2024 to refile for certification. 

The NLRC decision also found that Ninja Van engaged in unfair labor practices by replacing the dismissed workers with “independent contractors,” which strengthened the finding that the dismissals were connected to union activity.

“The totality of the conduct of the respondents gives rise to a strong presumption of retaliatory motive,” the NLRC decision said. “The above actions were designed to discourage union participation.”

CTUHR said that the favorable decision “sheds light” on the way the platform industry subverts workers’ rights, calling it “new but essentially old.” According to them, companies in the platform industry use tactics like treating workers as “independent contractors,” removing aspiring unionists from work and using legitimate reasons to justify retrenchment in an attempt to block collective action.

Research think-tank Fairwork Philippines says that mobile platform services like Ninja Van employ over 400,000 workers, forming part of the larger 10-million strong “gig economy”, a growing trend in the Philippine job market where more jobs are temporary, job-based contract work.

Platform workers are faced with a lack of employer support, like protections on the job and insurance benefits. Most platform workers are also treated as “independent contractors,” denying them legal rights covered by regular employee-employer relationships. Platform work also comes with low wages, irregular hours, and a lack of benefits to offset fuel, repair, and other costs.

CTUHR hopes that upcoming recommendations like the International Labor Organization’s convention to ensure decent work in the platform economy help provide platform workers their rights. “Innovation does not mean the disappearance of workers and their labor rights,” the group stressed.

The group also emphasized the need for collective action, saying that the NLRC decision should “motivate and stimulate” both platform workers and workers from other industries to “form their unions and organizations.”

“Even employers in newer industries will not automatically respect labor rights,” the group said. “Collective action remains necessary for workers to enjoy their labor rights and a decent life.” (RVO)

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