Flexible work protections stepped up

The labor rights of flexibly employed workers, including drivers working for delivery, ride-hailing and freight services, are now better protected thanks to central government efforts.

Since late last month, central government departments overseeing public transportation, food safety and human resources have released a series of policies focusing on protecting those working for online platforms who lack well-defined labor contracts, insurance or social benefits.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, along with the Ministry of Transport, other central government departments, and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, released a guideline on July 22 that clarified labor relations requirements, break arrangements and social insurance for people doing flexible jobs.

It also defined some unresolved problems, such as compensation for food delivery workers' work-related injuries.

"We are distressed that some of the flexibly employed, like food delivery workers, cannot receive their indemnity after work-related injuries," You Jun, vice-minister of human resources and social security, told a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

"The current work-related injury insurance is designed for traditional labor relations, which is not applicable to the labor relations under flexible employment. We are making efforts to formulate solutions and use some areas to experiment with these measures to solve the problem as soon as possible."

Payment for ride-hailing drivers, another large group of flexibly employed workers, has also attracted the attention of central government departments.

Li Huaqiang, deputy director of transport services at the Ministry of Transport, told the news conference that some ride-hailing applications had encroached on drivers' rights by increasing commissions on each order, meaning they have to work longer to maintain their incomes.

"There are over 3.51 million licensed ride-hailing drivers serving 236 platforms nationwide," he said. "We will push forward with the implementation of the guideline and improve the drivers' working environment to better protect their rights."

He said the ministry will require ride-hailing platforms to sign formal labor contracts with drivers and clarify the platforms' responsibilities to the drivers they employ.