BEIJING: A number of policy measures have been rolled out over the past few months to better protect gig workers, who experts described as the backbone of China’s labor force and a vital buffer against unemployment amid economic headwinds.
According to official estimates, over 200 million people are currently engaged in flexible work, of whom about 84 million operate in platform-based roles.
In a landmark move that took effect on Wednesday, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security launched a nationwide program extending work-related injury insurance to gig workers employed in the ride-hailing, instant delivery and intracity freight sectors.
The pilot program, initiated in July 2022, enrolled 29.9 million workers from across 11 major platforms and 17 provinces till the end of June. The ministry announced that additional platform-based occupations will be included in the program by 2027.
Work-related injury insurance is a cornerstone of China’s social safety net, forming part of the widely recognized “five insurances” that also include pension, medical, unemployment and maternity coverage.
It is the inherent flexibility of gig workers that exposes them to gaps in social protection. Injury, unemployment and pension insurance premiums of traditional employees are covered by their employers.
Platform workers, by contrast, often operate across multiple platforms that typically position themselves as mere information intermediaries — a setup that leaves workers in a precarious legal gray area.
The new occupational injury policy marks a significant departure from tradition by removing the prerequisite that workers must have an established employment relationship to qualify for coverage.
Instead, platforms now pay premiums on a per-order or per-day basis, with coverage triggered the moment a worker accepts a gig. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
