DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 29 November )—The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)- Davao Region will be sending a labor inspector to conduct a routine inspection at a Chowking branch here, which became viral for having a female worker asking door-to-door orders.
Paul Cruz, DOLE technical support and services division head, said in a television interview that the routine inspection is being carried out in response to concerns raised about the working conditions of the service crew, not by the workers themselves.
Cruz said the inspection would also determine if the Chowking SM City Davao branch had violated the rights of the service crew.
The DOLE official said that while they understand that the company would want to achieve a reasonable return on investment, it should not come at the expense of the workers’ rights.
Notably, Chowking Philippines issued a statement on Facebook on Sunday, stating that they have requested one of their branches to pause taking “outside-store orders” from customers.
The company assured the public that they are taking the matter seriously and have placed the activity on hold while reviewing guidelines to ensure compliance with their standards.
The viral video, which was posted by Tiktok user Maria Cabral (@cabralmaria__), claimed that the crew member, named “Shella,” was instructed by her manager to seek customers outside the store due to low in-store sales. Shella would personally deliver the orders, even using her own money for faster delivery of perishable items like halo-halo. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
