• Updated on Mar 21 with comments from Foodpanda.

CORONAVIRUS | At a time when Malaysians can't go to work due to the movement control order, thousands of riders are still plying the road and handling increased demand for food deliveries.

It is a risky job. Riders still have to come into contact with many people throughout the day.

Ezlan, 23, regularly spends seven to eight hours on the road every day. He told Malaysiakini that road hazards were once his biggest fears. Now it is the potential exposure to the Covid-19 virus.

"I'm worried about the situation, but what can I do? This is my job," he said.

Adding to his anxieties is the fact that most people that he meets aren't wearing face masks. He can't get hold of one either.

"I went to several pharmacies and try to buy some face masks, but all are out of stock now," he said.

Although Putrajaya has promised that face masks will be sufficient, the reality is it is a rare commodity.

According to a statement issued by Sean Goh, the Grab Malaysia Country Head, Grab is subsidising masks for their partner riders.

However, the subsidy benefits are "on a first come first served basis", which means that not all the riders are covered.

Their main competitor Foodpanda yesterday announced that their riders have been provided masks and sanitisers.

However, Malaysiakini's straw poll among Foodpanda riders showed that none of them has received these items.

"We buy it for ourselves. We need to buy the masks and sanitiser using our own money," said one rider named Firdaus.

However, when contacted, Foodpanda said rider captains have been distributing masks, sanitisers and gloves to riders before they start their shift at designated meeting points.

Contact-less delivery

As part of the MCO stipulations, most shopping malls are closed and restaurants only accept take-away services. For the riders, this is an added inconvenience.

Some shopping malls houses restaurants still providing takeaway services. For riders, it meant having to go through body temperature checks and writing down their details before being allowed to enter. Over the course of the day, the time needed to do so adds up.

"Now all the malls are closed, only some of the restaurants are still open for pickup or delivery. Some shops, for example, the McDonald, they would check your body temperature and even ask you to fill in your data."

"For ordinary people, the guard will not let you in casually," he said.

An upside to the Covid-19 pandemic for riders has been the new "contact-less delivery" option introduced by GrabFood and Foodpanda.

This allowed customers to instruct riders where to place their deliveries, minimising face-to-face contact for the rider.

"Customers can tell us where to place their food. Some asked us to put it at the lobby of their condominium, some requested us to put on their fence," said Ezlan, who would then inform the customers to come pick it up.

Few legal protections

While most workers will be protected during the MCO period, which requires employers to pay salaries for workers who are forced to stay at home, there are little protection for the food delivery riders.

According to the National Security Council, regular employees are also protected if they are forced into quarantine for suspected Covid-19 infection. During this quarantine period, employers cannot force the employee to use their annual leave.

Food delivery riders, many many gig economy workers, do not enjoy the same employment relationship with their paymasters because they are not covered in the existing labour laws.

Therefore, they are not protected or enjoy any benefits announced by the Human Resource Ministry during the MCO period.

However, Grab has announced that they would provide financial assistance to affected drivers or delivery partners while their account is on hold.

Therefore, the food delivery riders are not protected or benefits form the rules and policies announced by the ministry of human resources although they are playing important roles during the movement control order period.

Anyhow, Grab announced that the company would provide financial assistance to affected drivers and delivery partners if they contract Covid-19 or are forced into quarantine.

"We will provide RM1,000 to a partner who contracts Covid-19 on the job, and RM300 for a driver who is quarantined as a result of exposure during a ride or delivery," said the company.