Some riders for the delivery service Hungry Panda in Sydney have abandoned their strike plan after facing pressure from police in China.

In February, multiple Sydney riders of the food delivery platform, Hungry Panda, discussed plans for protests or refusing orders in their group chat on the Chinese social media app WeChat.

There has been a long-standing dispute between the platform and some of its riders, who have complained about pay cuts and the lack of transparency in the app’s algorithm. On the eve of the Chinese New Year, dozens signed up to go offline during the business peak as a protest.

However, many Chinese riders said they soon received threats from Chinese police for organising or participating in protests. Riders said they were contacted on their Chinese mobile numbers, which they still use in Australia with international roaming.

Exchanges between Hungry Panda riders and Chinese police have been independently verified, including phone records from one rider showing incoming calls from a police station in central China’s central Henan province.

Message exchanges from another rider with an officer identifying themselves as police from eastern Zhejiang province were also reviewed, with the phone number and WeChat accounts involved verified, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Founded in the UK in 2017, food delivery platform Hungry Panda entered the Australian and U.S. markets in 2019. It currently operates in 9 countries and over 100 cities, with around 6.5 million registered users and an annual transaction volume of approximately $1 billion.

The company operates in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide. Many of its delivery riders are Chinese nationals on temporary visas, rather than Australian citizens or permanent residents.

Multiple Riders Exit Strike Plan

Wang, a member in the WeChat group who chose to withhold her first name due to security concerns, said that a strike the riders had planned for March 3 is no longer happening.

“Originally, [they] were planning to strike, but after all sorts of things happened, some of the riders got scared, some were privately contacted by [Hungry] Panda, and then internal conflicts also arose. Now, many of them have changed their minds,” she told The Epoch Times.

Wang, who has participated in multiple strikes against Hungry Panda, believes that it is an effective way to have a say with the company.

“You must use a strike to show them that we are not easily controlled. Only then will you have a voice,” she said. “If you don’t participate in the strike, Hungry Panda can easily ban your account and assign you as many orders as they want … We’ve dealt with Hungry Panda many times. I know how they operate and how they treat the riders.”

While the riders contacted the Transport Workers Union and successfully sought assistance, they have since changed their minds.

“Some may have been scared of the company’s retaliation; some of them had received threatening phone calls. Some riders were so frightened that they left the [WeChat] group after receiving those calls,” said Wang.

Another rider, Mr. Wang, who also received a call from police in his hometown in Xiamen City, Fujian Province, told The Epoch Times that some riders would continue to stop working.

Hungry Panda has been approached for comment.

First Time Being Pressured By China

This is the first time that Wang, who participated in strikes in 2021, 2023, and 2024, has been pressured by Chinese authorities.

“It’s the first time. It never happened before,” she said. “I’ve participated in many strike activities in Australia. We’ve never received calls like this before.”

Wang’s said that she believes the riders’ discussions in the WeChat group, which contained many “sensitive words” during the Chinese New Year period, attracted the attention of cyber police, who, fearing trouble in China, notified local police from the riders’ household registration areas to call them.

“Some riders received calls and explained the situation to the police, saying, ‘Hungry Panda is in Australia, and we’re striking in Australia.’ The police then replied, ‘That’s fine, as long as you’re not causing trouble domestically,’” she said.

“Some police officers, after understanding the situation, said it was fine; while others advised them ‘not to cause trouble abroad.’”