N環球 
China proposes first labor protections for 84 million gig workers
China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security published draft rules on Oct 8 to protect gig workers, open for public comment until Nov 8; delivery riders, ride-hailing drivers and livestreamers would come under formal labor protections for the first time.
Why it matters
This would be the first time China brings platform workers under labor-law protection through a ministerial regulation. About 84 million people work in new forms of employment — from food-delivery riders and ride-hailing drivers to livestreamers — often with no recognized employment relationship.
Full report
The draft sorts platform work into three categories: workers in a full employment relationship get labor contracts; workers managed by platforms but falling short of a full employment relationship get written work agreements; genuinely self-employed freelancers are excluded. Platforms would be barred from dodging obligations through multi-layer subcontracting or inducing workers to register as self-employed businesses.
The draft directly regulates algorithms: major decisions affecting livelihoods — dispatching, fines, account bans — may not be made by algorithms alone and must pass human review; platforms must explain their algorithms to workers and may not use extreme outlier data as performance benchmarks. Workers disputing pay, hours, ratings or bans must get a human response within 48 hours.
On basic rights: pay after accounting for workers' own equipment costs must not fall below local minimum wage; pay cycles may not exceed one month and no handling fees; workers get rest after four consecutive hours; holiday work must be paid above normal rates.
Didi and Taobao Flash Sale said they will align their labor rules and algorithms with the new requirements. The draft is open for public comment; no implementation date has been announced.
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