Challenge in the new era: Protecting the rights and interests of workers in new forms of employment
Recently, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) issued three important guidelines aimed at strengthening social security for workers in new forms of employment, including food delivery workers, couriers and ride-hailing drivers. These occupations are often seen as flexible or temporary, and the number of people currently working in these jobs is huge, with more than 84 million people currently working in them.
The problems faced by workers in the new forms of employment are well known, including long working hours, precarious incomes, and a lack of basic labor protections. In response, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has issued policies aimed at improving their working conditions, including ensuring necessary rest periods, preventing overwork, and requiring platforms to sign reasonable contracts with workers to guarantee their labor compensation.
While these measures may seem to have brought some improvement to workers in the new form of employment, they do not actually touch on the underlying problems. The current labor dispatch system remains essentially a legacy of capitalism, allowing companies to adjust their workforce at will in response to changes in workload, thus avoiding providing stable jobs and benefits to employees.
In China, labor dispatch is not only used to meet the demand for temporary work, but even some jobs that should provide long-term employment are also hired in this way. This has led to unequal pay for equal work, and there are significant differences between outsourced or contract employees and regular employees in terms of five insurances and one housing fund, salary, etc.
Businesses tend to use labor dispatch for the simple reason that it can significantly reduce costs. For example, avoiding social security and provident fund contributions for employees can save a lot of money. In addition, this system provides businesses with a great deal of flexibility, making it easier to terminate employees without incurring additional liability.
Therefore, in order to truly improve the working conditions and welfare of workers in the new form of employment, it is necessary to fundamentally reform the labor dispatch system. However, this reform needs to be carried out at the systemic level, and it is those who currently benefit from the system who have the decision-making power to reform it. Therefore, there are major challenges in achieving this goal.