Report suggests stringent labor laws to protect gig workers

As the gig economy and new businesses continue to grow, a recent report has emphasized the need to enhance labor laws and suggests that China should promote employment equity and bolster the protection of workers' rights through legislative measures.

After reviewing labor disputes and employment-related laws and regulations in recent years, the report jointly released by the China Behavior Law Association and the Central South University in Hunan province concludes that China needs to optimize its legal framework to strengthen the protection of online platform workers, particularly in areas such as social insurance, employment rights and income security.

Citing data from the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the report shows that there are currently 84 million workers in emerging employment sectors across the country, including delivery riders and live streamers, accounting for 21 percent of the total number of employees nationwide.

It also reveals that Chinese courts heard about 420,000 civil lawsuits involving gig workers from 2020 to 2024, and a big legal issue was identifying the employment relationships between workers and digital platforms.

Additionally, excessively long working hours, insufficient safety measures and compensation rules for personal injury, and lack of employee social insurance, made up the bulk of complaints from gig workers, it said.

Although the Supreme People's Court, China's top court, has provided guidance for the lower courts in determining the labor relationship between live streamers, couriers, ride-sharing drivers and online platforms by disclosing some influential cases, the report emphasized the necessity of further improving national legislation to strongly protect flexible workers' legitimate rights and promote the healthy development of the internet economy.

Furthermore, it advocates for the inclusion of labor rights protection within the realm of public interest litigation, aiming to prevent workers from abandoning their pursuit of justice due to challenges in gathering evidence or financial limitations.