撰写Take a cut of information to inform, rule negotiation, social security "bottom line" –
There are new regulations on the protection of the rights and interests of online car-hailing drivers
After the order is completed, the driver can tap the screen to get the real-time information of the online car-hailing platform. If there is a problem with the work, the trade unions at all levels will "bridge", and the driver and the platform can start an effective equal negotiation dialogue… These ideas will become a reality in the near future.
In order to promote the healthy, sustainable and high-quality development of new forms of transportation, and strive to solve the rights and interests protection issues that employees of new forms of transportation are most concerned about, the Ministry of Transport, the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party and other eight departments recently issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Employees of New Forms of Transportation" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"). The "Opinions" strive to solve the painpoints faced by the online car-hailing industry? How to further improve the professional well-being of online car-hailing employees in the future?
The proportion is fully transparent, and the rules are formulated through multiple consultations
"We can’t see how much the platform takes. Anyway, it’s only about ten hours a day to’run ‘on the road." This is Master Liu’s fourth year as an online ride-hailing driver in Beijing.
In the evening, Master Liu accepted orders from the online ride-hailing platform on the driver’s side as usual. All along, he could only see his own income. As for how much passengers paid and how much the platform took for each order, Master Liu did not know.
In the setting of the proportion of the draw, the online car-hailing platform often has the voice over more than the online car-hailing driver. Huang Yan, a lawyer at Beijing Jingshi (Shanghai) Law Firm, said: "In practice, there are already such rights protection cases. Some irregular online car-hailing platforms adjust prices at will and increase the proportion of the draw. This kind of serious asymmetry of has the voice over can easily lead to complaints from drivers."
According to data from the Ministry of Transport, online car-hailing covers more than 300 cities across the country, with an average daily order volume of about 20 million. As of November 30, 2021, a total of 3.86 million online car-hailing driver licenses have been issued in various places. However, the right to know and supervision of online car-hailing drivers has not been better guaranteed with the expansion of the industry scale.
In response to the above situation, the "Opinions" pointed out that relevant departments in various places should urge online car-hailing platform enterprises to announce pricing rules and income distribution rules to relevant parties such as drivers and passengers. After each order is completed, the driver side should also list the total amount paid by the passengers of the order, the driver’s labor compensation, and show the proportion of the total amount paid by the passengers minus the driver’s labor compensation to the total amount paid by the passengers (commonly known as "commission"). This regulation aims to improve the benefit distribution mechanism between platforms and employees, so that thousands of "Master Liu" can have a better idea of how much money they earn.
The protection of the right to know about the rules of the proportion and billing is only the beginning of the protection of the rights and interests of employees. From the perspective of the healthy development of the online car-hailing industry, only by allowing drivers to truly participate in the formulation of rules on an equal footing can they give full play to their autonomy and optimize the rules of the industry.
"One of the highlights of the" Opinions "is that it emphasizes that the business strategy of online car-hailing platforms has been changed from unilateral formulation by the original platform to consultation." Wu Qingjun, a professor at the School of Labor and Personnel of Renmin University of China and a researcher at the Capital Institute of Development and Strategy, said that when the "Opinions" involve the distribution of platform benefits and the vital interests of workers, it emphasizes that trade unions and industry associations should negotiate with platform enterprises and explore the establishment of an equal consultation mechanism between workers and platform enterprises.
Equal consultation requires smooth channels of dialogue. According to Huang Yan, trade unions at all levels should play a key role as bridges: "First, trade unions represent drivers at the source to negotiate with online car-hailing platforms and participate in the design of relevant rights and interests systems; secondly, when workers’ rights and interests are damaged, they can also play a role in safeguarding rights and interests and assisting in difficulties."
Since July this year, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the General Administration of Market Supervision and other departments have issued intensive guidelines on safeguarding the labor rights and interests of workers in new employment forms such as couriers, takeaway food deliverymen, and online car-hailing drivers. On the basis of continuing the previous inclusive and prudent attitude towards new business formats, the government is stepping up efforts to make up for the shortcomings of various systems for the protection of workers’ rights and interests.
"This fully demonstrates the determination and attitude of our country’s government to protect the labor rights and interests of workers in new formats while actively promoting the healthy and high-quality development of new formats," Wu Qingjun said.
Improve the social security system to ensure labor safety
On online car-hailing platforms such as Shenzhou Special Car and Sunshine Travel, the employment relationship between drivers and platforms is divided into two types: one is a full-time driver who signs an employment contract with platform companies and pays social security on time; the other is a flexible employee who only signs an agreement with the platform to earn income.
The group of online ride-hailing drivers who work in the form of agreements is not clear about the labor security issues during the online period. "I am usually online all day, but I have not met with the platform, let alone paid social security. I mainly rely on myself to pay more attention when driving." Working in the same position for a long time, Master Liu’s lumbar spondylosis became more and more serious.
Drivers without social security are not a few, and how to support employees with different labor situations to participate in social insurance in the future and do a good job of "backing" for drivers is a problem that needs to be solved urgently.
The "Opinions" specify that online car-hailing platform enterprises should be urged to participate in social insurance for online car-hailing drivers who meet the labor relationship situation in accordance with the law, and guide and support online car-hailing drivers who do not fully meet the established labor relationship situation to participate in corresponding social insurance.
The general manager of Shenzhou Special Car once said in an interview with reporters that the company has always encouraged non-labor relationship drivers to participate in insurance, and in the future will guide flexible employment of online car-hailing drivers to participate in corresponding social insurance according to local policies.
"The concern and protection of the rights and interests of this large number of groups that do not conform to labor relations are precisely the purpose of the" Opinions ". Huang Yan believes that this policy will help to establish and improve the social security system for workers in new employment forms.
In addition to paying social security, the risk of occupational injury for ride-hailing drivers cannot be ignored.
In response to this issue, the "Opinions" emphasize that occupational injury protection for online car-hailing drivers should be strengthened, and online car-hailing platform enterprises should be encouraged to actively participate in occupational injury protection pilots to provide protection for online car-hailing drivers during online service.
The existing work injury insurance and work injury claims are all established under the institutional framework of labor relations, and the introduction of the "Opinions" is expected to provide direction for future institutional innovation. "In the future, it is possible to list the work injury insurance claims of this part of the employment group separately, which means that although the driver and the platform have not signed an employment contract, they can also obtain corresponding claims in the occupational injury protection channel established by the government for flexible employees," Huang Yan said.
In addition to paying attention to the physical safety of online ride-hailing drivers, it is essential to promote the high-quality development of the industry by focusing on the details to improve the driver’s professional well-being. For example, the Ministry of Transport and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions jointly launched the "2021 Most Beautiful Taxi Driver" promotion campaign to find and select the most beautiful around; the Shenzhou special car team took to the streets to distribute New Year’s red envelopes to drivers who stick to the front line. These measures can effectively enhance the professional honor and sense of belonging of the industry.
"For ride-hailing platforms, drivers are the greatest wealth," Mr. Zeng said.
All parties join forces to promote healthy development
"It’s hard to find a place to park in a big city, and it’s not easy to eat on time after taking an order by car." Some drivers reported that the online car-hailing driver group generally faces problems such as "difficulty in eating, parking, and toileting."
How to make the dividends of the "Opinions" quickly reach the group of online ride-hailing drivers? We should also start from the "nerve endings" of society to solve the key problem of drivers "who are in a hurry".
Fortunately, more and more people are paying attention to these phenomena, gathering a trickle of "warm current". For example, the Federation of Trade Unions of Balizhuang Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing has previously integrated the resources of its jurisdiction to create a temporary "foothold" for workers in new formats. At the door of the "service street" merchants, "Balizhuang Knight Love Service Point" signs are posted to provide drinking water, rest, emergency medical care and other services for workers in new formats, including online ride-hailing drivers and couriers. Such measures are beneficial attempts.
To make the beautiful vision in the "Opinions" a reality, it is also necessary to consolidate the main responsibilities of all parties and form a joint force to promote the healthy development of the industry.
"In the current situation that most online ride-hailing drivers have not signed employment contracts with platform companies, to fully protect the rights and interests of drivers, we should further strengthen the collaborative supervision of various departments." Wu Qingjun believes that the role of the inter-ministerial joint meeting mechanism for collaborative supervision of new transportation formats should be given full play, and various problems encountered in the protection of the rights and interests of employees in new transportation formats should be coordinated and solved in a timely manner.
The "Opinions" set a clear timeline for the establishment of this mechanism, proposing that the multi-departmental collaborative supervision joint meeting mechanism should be established or improved at the provincial and prefecture-municipal levels by the end of 2021. This regulation further emphasizes the key role that government supervision should play in safeguarding the rights and interests of workers.
Huang agreed, saying the government should also strengthen supervision of platforms and speed up the process of ride-hailing compliance, so as not to let legally compliant drivers "suffer" instead and restrict the platform’s use of its dominant position to arbitrarily adjust prices.
In addition to "other laws", enterprises still need "self-discipline". As the main body of employment, how can enterprises further protect the rights and interests of workers? For Shenzhou Special Car, the introduction of the policy is at the right time, and the standardized system construction can also allow the platform to continue to develop healthily, Zeng said. "Some of the requirements mentioned in the" Opinions "are higher than our current execution standards, such as real-time display of the proportion of the draw on the driver side. In response to such issues, we will increase the priority of relevant matters and speed up the Product Research & Development process on the basis of learning the policy."
"Protecting the rights and interests of employees is an important measure to practice the concept of adhering to the people first. It is of great significance to stimulate the initiative and enthusiasm of employees to serve, improve the service quality of the industry, and promote the healthy, sustainable and high-quality development of the platform economy." The person in charge of the relevant department of the Ministry of Transport said. (Reporter, Gong Wenjing)