The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) congratulated the Ninja Van riders for successfully defending their job security and right to unionize. After nearly five months, the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) issued a decision in December ordering the reinstatement of 131 riders Ninja Van dismissed last year. These workers are members of the Ninja Van Riders’ Union (NVRU-FFW). Ninja Van is one of the largest logistics providers in Southeast Asia. Its headquarters is based in Singapore.

The company dismissed the said workers between April and May 2025, citing their alleged absence without leave (AWOL), use of different names in accounts, and performance issues. Using the company’s own records, the union proved to the NLRC that the riders did not go AWOL. Using different names in the app did not interfere with their work, and they fulfilled their assigned tasks.

Based on these reasons, the NLRC ordered Ninja Van to reinstate the dismissed riders. The commission also declared the company’s hiring of other riders as retaliation against union activities as an “unfair labor practice.”

“No spear can deter the continuing struggle to achieve workers’ rights. Victory is achieved with principle and dignity,” NVRU-FFW president Dick Pacioles said.

“The NLRC decision is a boost to (advancing) the right to security of tenure and to freedom of association that should be enjoyed by all platform industry workers and all workers,” CTUHR stated.

“It sheds light on the new but essentially old means by which companies in the platform industry try to subvert workers’ rights.” These methods include treating them as “independent contractors” and not employees, dismissing them when they unionize, and using seemingly legitimate reasons to justify the retrenchment.