Riders at Risk: Who Speaks for Thailand’s Platform Workers?

In late February 2026, four of Thailand’s biggest digital platforms — Grab, Line Man Wongnai, Lazada, and Shopee — formed the Thai Digital Platform Trade Association (TDPA) to protect consumers, promote sustainable growth, and engage with policymakers. The association aims to address concerns that excessive regulation of market competition and licensing could stifle innovation. The emergence of this well-resourced entity representing business interests raises concerns that riders and delivery drivers, who are crucial to the platform economy, could become further sidelined.

Under the current Thai labour law, riders are classified as “partners”, not employees, and they generally fall outside the jurisdiction of standard labour laws and union representation. As partners, riders are excluded from minimum wage guarantees, paid leave, and employer-funded accident compensation. While riders can opt into social security for informal workers, this scheme is voluntary, requires self-contributions, and provides far more limited coverage than formal employment benefits.

Recent policy developments do little to close this gap. Although the Labour Protection Act was revised in 2025 and a draft Independent Workers Promotion and Protection Bill was introduced, labour organisations and activists have criticised these measures for entrenching, rather than resolving, precarity. By labelling riders as “independent workers” and proposing a “Promotion and Protection Fund” financed largely by riders themselves, the burden of risk remains firmly on those least able to bear it. While platforms offer formal support channels for riders for conflict mediation, safety, and emergencies, they largely operate without clear and consistent guarantees of protection. That risk is lived daily on Thailand’s roads.

Delivery work exposes riders to significant physical danger. In 2023, the WHO found that Thailand had the ninth-highest road traffic death rate globally, with motorcyclists accounting for more than 80 per cent of deaths. 94.1 per cent of platform riders reported having been involved in at least one accident. When accidents occur, riders must pay for damages out-of-pocket and go through a lengthy, complicated reimbursement process. Lost income during recovery or vehicle downtime is rarely compensated.

Female platform workers are also exposed to potential sexual harassment by passengers or delivery customers, a critical issue exacerbated by the platforms rarely banning the offending party. One female rider who filed a harassment complaint was assured she would not be matched with that customer again, only to learn that the individual had gone on to target others. With little confidence in these protections, many female riders choose to work only during the day, trading income for safety. New regulations introduced in October 2025, in theory, grant riders the right to abandon a job if they feel unsafe. In practice, however, that moment often comes too late, when a passenger is already in their vehicle or at the offender’s door.

These risks are not incidental. They are shaped by how the platform works. Algorithms determine which jobs riders receive, how much they are paid, and how their performance is evaluated. In Bangkok, riders have seen their pay decrease from approximately 60 baht per delivery in 2018 to about 38 baht in recent years. At the same time, a growing share of riders’ income is tied to incentives that reward completing high volumes of deliveries within tight timeframes. Framed as rewards, these incentives effectively compel riders to accept nearly every job that appears on their app, reducing their ability to refuse unsafe or unprofitable work.

…achieving meaningful change will require more than just rider solidarity. As digital labour continues to transform urban economies, regulators must adapt labour laws to keep pace with technological advancements.

The combination of high risk, low protection, and limited autonomy in platform labour raises important questions about its future. While Thailand has formal tripartite mechanisms for labour consultation, the state and online platforms are not sufficiently engaging these frameworks to address riders’ concerns. In this context, industry associations can help establish standards and foster dialogue. However, a persistent lack of meaningful worker involvement within the association may lead to increased corporate influence and resistance to reforms that could raise labour costs.

In Thailand, the TDPA risks becoming a tool for managing public perception and advancing the corporate interests of foreign-owned platform companies, rather than addressing the fundamental challenges riders face. Public policies governing platform work have focused on investment and job creation, often prioritising the quantity of jobs generated by platform companies over their quality. Without significant reforms, such as clearer labour protections, transparent governance, and avenues for collective representation, the situation for platform workers is unlikely to improve.

However, riders are not passive. Across Thailand, various rider groups, labour organisations, and civil society entities are finding ways to organise. Informal Facebook groups, such as the Freedom Rider Union, which has over 75,000 followers, offer spaces to share information, coordinate responses, and support those facing labour-related conflicts. Organisations like the Just Economy and Labour Institute and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation are documenting working conditions and amplifying rider concerns.

There have also been moments of direct mobilisation. In May 2025, hundreds of delivery riders marched to the Bhumjaithai Party headquarters, calling for amendments to the 1998 Labour Protection Act, particularly a broader definition of “employee” that would extend basic protections to platform workers.

These events illustrate an important truth: riders are organising, advocating for their rights, and making their voices heard. They are not unseen or unheard participants in the platform economy. However, achieving meaningful change will require more than just rider solidarity. As digital labour continues to transform urban economies, regulators must adapt labour laws to keep pace with technological advancements. Without this governmental support, the challenges related to risk, health, and economic insecurity will continue to fall heavily on the shoulders of those who sustain the platform economy.

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