Majority Agency and takeaway riders together summer research project report

content overview

This research report is divided into 5 parts. The first part introduces the origin of the project. In this part, we will briefly introduce the actual background and purpose of the project initiation. We point out that in the context of the disorderly expansion and rapid monopoly of platform capital, which has led to riders’ protests in some areas, we initiated and participated in this survey It is a useful attempt for young citizens to actively understand and understand Chinese society, and to offer advice and suggestions for social development and stability. The second part introduces the survey design and survey overview. We thank readers for their trust and active participation in us, and understand that some readers cannot participate in the whole process due to the epidemic. At the same time, we also reflected on some problems in the organization process of research activities.

The third and fourth parts are mainly some findings of the survey, of which the third part is the basic situation of the survey objects, and the fourth part is some issues that we have summarized from the research materials and are worthy of continued attention and in-depth exploration. The reason for this treatment is mainly due to the consideration of the rigor of the method. In the conclusion of the fifth part, we call on more people to pay attention to some of the problems pointed out in the report, and hope that the potential problems will receive appropriate policy responses as soon as possible, so as to resolve social conflicts in the bud.

Table of contents

content overview

one. Project origin

two. Survey Design and Survey Overview

2.1 Research objects

2.2 Recruitment of researchers

2.3 Research methodology and implementation

3. Basic information of the respondents

4. Some issues reflected in the survey

4.1 Outsourcing or multi-level labor control?

4.2 Gendered Rider Jobs

4.3 False subsidies and extreme weather denial of work

4.4 The implementation of manual injury and social security under the new regulations

4.5 Self-employed small restaurant as a platform subordinate

4.6 Mental health of riders

V. Conclusion

one. Project origin

In the past few years, we have witnessed the rapid expansion of capital on several platforms, such as e-commerce, taxi-hailing, food delivery, and short videos... A large number of workers have been involved in the ranks of platform workers who seem to be free but seriously lack protection. At the same time, in the face of the downward pressure on the economy under the trade war and the impact of the epidemic, the government has also continued to promote and support "flexible employment". Recently, the "Shenzhen Municipal Employee Salary Payment Regulations Amendment (Draft)" has further abolished the regulations on overtime wages for "variable working hours" employees who work on statutory holidays and festivals, and the working conditions faced by platform workers continue to deteriorate. In the context of deteriorating labor conditions, we have also seen that the expansion of platform capital has begun to lead to the intensification of some social conflicts, and protests by food delivery riders have begun to appear in some places. These intricate developments raise many questions for our understanding of the development of the platform economy and its social impact.

Although different channels have released many excellent research reports and in-depth reports on platform labor, we believe that there are still more issues to be explored and investigated, such as the multi-level labor control behind the complex labor relationship and the nature of platform work. gender dimension, etc. In order to better understand the operation of platform capital and the responses of various parties surrounding the expansion of platform capital, as well as the impact of these developments on the real living and working conditions of takeaway riders, we need to really get close to the riders and use solid research to understand the riders. The bits and pieces and real dilemmas of work and life. As responsible citizens, we are also obliged to understand the living conditions of vulnerable groups in society, and based on solid first-hand investigations, provide advice and suggestions for public policy formulation and national governance, while ensuring economic development while preventing further intensification of social conflicts. Economic development and people's daily life provide a stable social environment.

Most agencies have been paying close attention to the issue of platform labor, especially takeaway riders and couriers, two emerging groups of platform workers who have a large number and appear in social news for a long time. Since the publication of the article "Delivery Riders, Trapped in the System" last year, the public has paid a lot of attention to the work and living conditions of the food delivery rider group, and the same is true among our readers. Since April this year, the background and mailboxes of most agencies have received many letters from readers asking whether we will organize related research activities during the summer vacation. In response to the enthusiasm of our readers, we began to think seriously about launching this campaign. At almost the same time, with the approval of the State Council, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Emergency Response, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the State Medical Insurance Administration, the Supreme People's Court, and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions jointly issued the "On Maintenance of the New Guiding Opinions on Employment Forms and Labor Security Rights and Interests of Laborers”, and subsequently, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the State Cyberspace Administration of China, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Commerce, and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions jointly issued the “About Implementing the Guiding Opinions on the Responsibilities of Online Catering Platforms to Effectively Protect the Rights and Interests of Takeout Delivery Drivers, we believe that launching research activities at this point in time is a good way to help riders quickly understand national policies. This led us to finally decide to launch a campaign.

two. Survey Design and Survey Overview

2.1 Research objects

The research object of this research activity is the food delivery delivery staff in the platform labor group. This is mainly due to the following considerations: First, influenced by the article "Takeaway Riders, Trapped in the System" and its subsequent public discussions, readers are generally concerned about delivery riders, although some readers expressed their dissatisfaction with The group of couriers and online car-hailing drivers is concerned, but because of limited energy, we can only make a choice; second, more and more young people are entering the food delivery industry, and according to the statistics of scholars, food delivery riders are also the ones with the most controversies and protests The third is that the labor relations and labor arrangements of food delivery delivery personnel have many similarities with those of other platform workers, and they are relatively typical platform employment; finally, based on literature review, we found that food delivery delivery personnel are platform employees. Among the labor groups, the groups with higher willingness to accept surveys are surveyed. Considering that Meituan is the largest food delivery platform with operations all over the country, we chose Meituan riders as the survey subjects. In addition to delivery drivers, we also visited a number of contractors, stations and restaurants, which gave us a more comprehensive picture of the labor situation of riders.

2.2 Recruitment of researchers

Participants in this study were recruited primarily through the Internet. After we publish the recruitment statement, readers who are interested in the event can sign up by themselves, and after a simple screening, they can be selected as participants. Considering that the registered readers come from various industries in the society and have different understandings of the food delivery industry, we provided simple training for the research participants. The purpose is to provide the participants with the necessary background information and knowledge, and they have been able to successfully complete research.

2.3 Research methodology and implementation

The research part of this report mainly adopts the combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods.

After the training, we provided the participants with a brief questionnaire, the main purpose of which was to obtain the basic demographics, family and income information of the survey subjects. In addition, we prepared a simple interview outline around the multi-level labor control implemented at various levels such as platforms, subcontractors, stations, etc., as well as the daily work experience of male and female riders. We are open to suggestions from some participants to add content related to issues of their own concern.

During the actual research process, our recruitment posts attracted more than 100 people to sign up, and less than 70 people participated in the complete training. They are mainly distributed in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other first-tier cities where riders are concentrated, and there are also readers from counties in various provinces in the mainland Most of them are students participating in the school's summer social practice project. Because this activity was initiated spontaneously based on the considerations detailed in the first part, without any external human, material and financial support, and we did not carry out any offline organization work, all research activities were conducted by the participants in their long-term residence The collection and submission of all data depends on the voluntary completion of the participants. Coupled with the impact of the outbreak of the epidemic in some areas during the investigation period, the facts have proved that the effect of this method is not satisfactory, and the research activities have progressed to a late stage, and there are not many people who are still actively participating.

The questionnaire sampling adopts the combination of street survey and snowball, mainly relying on the participants to complete it by themselves. After the questionnaire is completed, opinions are solicited and they are asked whether they are willing to continue to accept interviews. In the three weeks since the end of the survey, we have recovered more than 100 questionnaires and more than 50 interview materials (mainly interview notes). According to the geographical distribution of the survey participants, the respondents are mainly concentrated in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and a considerable number of respondents are distributed in county towns.

3. Basic information of the respondents

Among the riders who responded, male riders accounted for 89%, while female riders accounted for only 11%. This is basically in line with the gender ratio of the rider group, and the absolute majority is male. The age ranges from the youngest 17 to the oldest 51, with an average age of 29. In terms of education level, more than 40% of the respondents have graduated from high school/technical secondary school/technical school/vocational high school, followed by junior high school (34%), and less than 18% have a college degree or above. In terms of household registration, more than 80% of riders have rural household registration.

Among the riders surveyed this time, 73% of the riders do special delivery, followed by crowdsourcing (12%) and happy running (6.19%). Like other surveys, the working hours of riders are generally relatively long. As far as the interviewed riders are concerned, 28% of the riders work 10 hours a day, and most riders (72.48%) work 8 to 12 hours a day . It is worth noting that nearly 23% of riders work 13 hours or more, and a small number even reach 16 hours. As for the number of working days per week, 86% of them worked 7 days, 9.71% worked 6 days, 3.88% worked 5 days, and no one worked less than 5 days.

The complicated labor relationship of riders has always been criticized. As far as this survey is concerned, 46% of riders have signed paper contracts, followed by electronic contracts (40.45%), and 10.11% of riders have no contracts. Most of the riders signed contracts with third-party labor service companies. The local accounted for 30.11%, and 25.81% were from other places. Only 16.13% of the riders signed contracts with the Meituan Waimai platform. It is worth noting that 27.96% The riders interviewed said they were not sure who they signed the contract with. This unclear problem is even more serious when it comes to the type of contract. 46.07% of the riders said they did not know what type of contract they signed, and 44.94% of the riders said they signed a labor contract, so they were sure they had signed a formal labor contract Only 5.62%. Correspondingly, more than 85% of the riders said that the five social insurances and one housing fund were not specified in the contract, and only 5.49% of the riders said that their contracts had this provision. Similarly, 74.19% of the riders said that in reality, Party A did not pay the five insurances and one housing fund at all, and only 4.84% of the riders said that Party A paid according to the actual salary. Regarding the issue of social security for riders, there is a saying that riders are unwilling to participate in paying social security in order to get more income. However, according to the results of this questionnaire, most of the riders (57.69%) participating in social security are because platforms and companies do not Willing to participate, 19.23% of the riders said they could not pay for the social security policy, and only 7.69% were really unwilling to pay.

The work-related injuries of riders have always attracted much attention. In this survey, 39.02% of the riders said they had suffered work-related injuries, and most of them (77.78%) were riders who had 1-2 or 3-5 work-related injuries There are also 19.44%, and the work-related injuries reflected from the side are not caused by pure accidents. After the work-related injury, 52.78% of the riders said that they did not receive corresponding compensation, and 27.78% of the riders had additional losses such as platform fines, re-purchasing labor tools, and compensation to others.

4. Some issues reflected in the survey

Because of the organization and implementation of the aforementioned survey, as well as the epidemic situation encountered during the survey, many applicants were unable to actually participate. Unfortunately, the data we finally obtained was not enough for us to draw rigorous conclusions on some important issues. It is impossible to give policy recommendations based on solid field research and investigation. However, because the scope of the survey covers all parts of the country, and the survey participants have visited and in-depth understanding of first-line restaurants and sites, this still allows us to see some of the concerns of riders in the public and policy discussions on platform labor , an important issue that has been overlooked in public and policy discussions about platform labor.

4.1 Rethinking Platform Labor Control and Its Legal Implications: Outsourcing or Multi-Level Labor Control?

The first is the platform as the main body of labor control, and the multi-level issue of labor control. At present, many discussions about the "special delivery" mode of riders under the platform economy believe that the platform is the contract sender, and the sites in various places are subcontractors, so the rider and the site constitute a labor relationship, and have nothing to do with the platform. However, our research found that the relationship between the platform and the site is actually very complicated in practice, and it does not conform to the "outsourcing relationship" in the strict legal sense. An obvious fact is that the reward and punishment rules and dress code formulated by the platform can directly restrain the professional For the rider. In addition, there are many other evidences in the survey that the actual operation of this "outsourcing relationship" has gone beyond the scope of the "outsourcing relationship". is platform dependent. Only after the platform settles the relevant funds to the site, the station master can settle the rider. In fact, from the information we have collected about the relationship between the platform and the site, we can see that the site is not an independent operating entity that completes the distribution tasks of the sender in the "outsourcing relationship", although the site The establishment of the website requires the site owner to spend a certain amount of funds to rent the site, recruit and hire employees, and maintain the operation of the site. However, in fact, the daily operation of the site is subject to the complicated management of the platform. Mistakenly thinking that it was a "spy" sent by Meituan to monitor the riders and the platform, some webmasters and investigators complained, saying that they might be disqualified from operating the site at any time. This point deserves further in-depth reflection in public discussion.

Based on the above discussion, we can see that even in the special delivery mode, the nature and complexity of the relationship between the platform and the rider should be re-evaluated in comparison with practice. Based on the platform’s management of sites and direct and indirect management of riders, we propose that a more appropriate understanding is that, as an enterprise operating nationwide, the platform adopts a multi-level labor control model, Although it is "outsourcing" on the surface, it is not essentially different from the "false outsourcing" method commonly used by Chinese enterprises. Through the "outsourcing" shell, it entrusts some management functions to subcontractors and sites to perform, but the site And subcontractors seem to have autonomy, but in fact they are just another form of employees with basically no independence. Comparing the organizational form of traditional manufacturing "companies" and "factories" with the practice of outsourcing part of production and assembly by multinational companies, the roles of site and station masters relative to Meituan are more similar to workshops and production managers in workshops Or elongate, rather than the relationship between an Apple foundry in Dongguan and Apple, which is an "outsourcing" relationship in the classic sense.

Reflection on the relationship between platforms, agents, sites and riders and a deeper thinking and understanding of their complexity can help us better understand what kind of labor law we need. Judging from the current discussions and policy trends, my country is ushering in the era of "three divisions of labor law". Taking Meituan as an example, clarifying the control relationship between these different levels of management and workers will help us understand what the "outsourcing" claimed by the company actually means to workers and what kind of burden they need to bear. cost. Social conflicts, especially labor-capital conflicts, are rooted in the unreasonable control and exploitation that workers feel, and it will not be alleviated by how companies define their relationship with workers in words.

Clarifying the relationship between these nodes allows us to better understand the rights, responsibilities, and obligations of all parties, the distribution of power and responsibility between these market players and the state, and the power balance between different players in the real game. It can help us assess the realistic rationality of the "rule of thirds". Judging from the current preliminary research results, we are pessimistic about the "trichotomy of labor law" under the framework of labor law liberalism and pluralism. Pursuing a framework of liberalism and pluralism clarifies the rights and responsibilities of all parties on the surface and safeguards the interests of everyone. In fact, it makes the mistake of treating labor relations and employment relations as abstract, static, and invariable, and assuming Once the law is promulgated, it can be fully implemented in the whole society. Rules and regulations based on this mistake have legally weakened the rights and interests of workers. When the law and the judiciary are unable to forcefully constrain the employment behavior of enterprises, when there is no serious review of the "realistic" labor control of platform enterprises represented by Meituan, when workers do not have the collective power to have an equal dialogue with enterprises In the current reality where the power of workers and capital is extremely unbalanced, this is very likely to further weaken the power and benefits that workers can actually enjoy in the actual competition between capital and workers. The purchase of social insurance for platform workers, which will be detailed below, is a strong evidence.

4.2 Gendered Rider Jobs

Second is gendered rider work. Our research found that women riders may encounter gender-based discrimination in all aspects of applying for and working as riders. In some places, especially first-tier cities, women are considered to be less fast and flexible than male riders, which has led to the absence of female riders at many stations. The few sites with female riders are also hired by the stationmaster to motivate male riders, because "male riders will feel ashamed if they can't outrun female riders". In our research, more female riders gather in the county town, and most of them undertake heavy housework and heavy work at the same time. Many people hope to go for a run after their children fall asleep at night, but they are told by the site that Female riders are not allowed to run singles, the reason being "for safety reasons". In addition, whether it is female riders in county towns or first-tier cities, they are all faced with the challenge of "racing" with male riders in the algorithm system: in a management system that uses male physical function as the default gender setting and rewards high order volume In the system, due to actual differences in physical strength, special physiological needs and the resulting social inconvenience, it is difficult for women to perform better than men in the system, which also explains why in most cases, female riders The income of riders is lower than that of male riders, and most of the old riders are male riders.

In addition to gender discrimination in the recruitment process and management, the three-period subsidy and maternity protection for female workers stipulated in the "Special Regulations on the Labor Protection of Female Employees" have no evidence of realization among female riders. In the survey based on multiple places, we did not hear female riders say that the site or platform provides them with three-term allowances or maternity protection. During their menstrual period, they can only carry the corresponding supplies by themselves, and find a place to solve the corresponding problems on their own between dispatching orders; if they are too weak to continue working, they can only stop working and go home to rest. If the government’s recent policy on work-related injury protection for platform workers can be understood as the first step for the government to protect the interests of platform workers, then these very practical issues of female riders should also become relevant public discussions and policy agendas an important part of .

There are also a small number of female riders who pointed out that they were sexually harassed in the process of receiving and dispatching orders, most of which were verbal harassment. Some female riders kindly called the other party "not very good at talking", but this issue itself is worthwhile. The attention of platform companies has learned the lessons of Alibaba in recent days.

4.3 False subsidies and extreme weather denial of work

A third phenomenon that stands out is the inability to refuse work due to false subsidies and extreme weather. Because during the research period, it was hot and hot, and many places exceeded the national high temperature subsidy temperature line for many days, so high temperature subsidy became a hot topic among riders. In the discussion among the riders, a phenomenon that often appeared has attracted everyone’s attention and discussion, that is, although the order receiving software shows a high-temperature subsidy fee of 0.5 yuan per order, the total price of each order has not changed accordingly. almost unchanged. After careful study, I found that in some places, whenever the subsidy is needed in high temperature weather, the system will automatically reduce the price of each order by 0.5 yuan. In this way, even if the nominal high temperature subsidy of 0.5 yuan is added, the platform does not need to pay. higher costs.

Also during the investigation period, extreme weather such as heavy rain, typhoon, and flood in some places will undoubtedly bring huge safety risks to riders. According to relevant national regulations, work should be stopped in time. However, in some places, despite such weather, the platform continues to send orders, and even introduces a temporary "incentive policy" to encourage riders to take orders. Moreover, once the platform dispatches the order, the rider cannot refuse it, otherwise he will have to bear the corresponding losses, such as fines.

Whether it is the high temperature subsidy or the right to stop or refuse work due to extreme weather, it is the right that workers should have, and it is also written into the laws of our country. Cornerstone. But in the practice of platform companies, these basic things are intentionally ignored and avoided. Future public discussions can explore more related issues in this regard.

4.4 The implementation of manual injury and social security under the new regulations

The fourth is the implementation of rider protection. Under the new regulations, the implementation of rider protection. Since February this year, relevant departments across the country have successively issued relevant regulations, urging local governments and platform companies to jointly provide necessary conditions for riders' work-related injury insurance and social security. In this survey, based on the feedback from the riders, we understand that many riders have purchased two insurance policies, one for the car and the other for the employer’s accident insurance, although the latter is Employer accident insurance, the beneficiary is the employer, but in fact the insurance cost is paid by the rider. This should be a supplementary insurance other than work-related injury insurance, but in practice it has become the only work-related injury-related protection for takeaway riders. If there is an accident, the rider needs to confirm with the site what items can be reimbursed and what items cannot be reimbursed. And it all depends on the site, not the insurance regulations, because the beneficiary of the insurance is actually the site, and providing protection for the rider through the employer's liability insurance is essentially the site's insurance for the possible compensation for the possible work-related injury risks of the rider. The specific process of claim settlement is that the employer—usually the station owner—applies, the accident rider provides relevant proof materials, and the insurance company pays the station owner the compensation. How to allocate the cover compensation depends entirely on the station. . Many riders told us that in the work-related injury cases they know, there is often a big difference between the compensation received by the station master and the compensation finally given to the rider. That is to say, the rider’s “curve” is protected through employer liability insurance , In practice, it has become a source of additional income for some sites. In addition, many riders said that the injured rider will be required to sign an agreement to waive all subsequent claims before receiving compensation, otherwise they will not be able to receive compensation.

In addition to work-related injury insurance, survey results from various places—including Guangzhou and Nanjing, which have promulgated social insurance regulations—found that most riders still do not have social insurance, and this is not because they do not want to. Many people said that social insurance is too expensive, others said that they used to pay social insurance in the factory, but now the site does not help them pay, and they don’t know where to pay it.

These very preliminary discussions let us see that work-related injuries and social security for riders cannot be achieved overnight by enacting a decree. Future public discussions can continue to focus on the implementation of relevant laws and regulations, and discuss how to better promote riders to enjoy real social security and real work-related injury protection instead of employer liability insurance instead.

4.5 Self-employed small restaurant as a platform subordinate

However, as a food provider, restaurants play a very central role in the operation of the food delivery industry. Without restaurants, the entire food delivery industry cannot operate. Paradoxically, restaurants are rarely mentioned in discussions about platform labor. In the feedback we received from survey participants, there was a tendency to divide restaurants into fine-dining/chain restaurants and self-employed restaurants, noting that there is a big difference in the relationship between the two in relation to the platform. Simply put, high-end/chain restaurants have more bargaining chips than platforms, and when platforms force them to "choose one", they tend to have more room for negotiation; while small restaurants (including fast food restaurants with storefronts) or the food stalls in the food streets around the university) have almost no choice. They can’t give up Meituan—because “people are too used to ordering takeaways now, and without Meituan, their business will be reduced by at least half.” Don't want to give up the business brought by another platform. Some restaurants choose to secretly use another signboard to open stores on Ele.me, but they are easily discovered by Meituan inspectors. Once discovered, Meituan will "order rectification" (in the words of a restaurant owner), otherwise it will Being "closed", that is, the entire store is removed from the platform. In the age of everyone's delivery, that's devastating for small restaurants.

Future media discussions and academic research can pay more attention to this group of small restaurant owners, especially when Meituan has become and monopolized the "takeaway infrastructure", in which aspects these merchants rely on the Meituan platform, and to what extent do they rely on the Meituan platform? With autonomy, what kind of way does Meituan get profits from them. Meituan stated in its prospectus that its vision is to help the catering industry operate better, provide better promotion for restaurant merchants, and let every consumer eat better. However, the survey of our participants found that various restrictions on restaurant owners, excessive commissions and promotion expenses often greatly push up the operating costs of restaurants. If some high-end restaurants and chain catering companies already have a certain amount of promotion budget to spend here, and can digest this part of the cost through food price increases, then for small restaurants with small profits but high sales The cost is very high, and there is not much room for them to increase the price, so some restaurants will choose to call some diners directly during off-peak dining hours, asking them to cancel the order on the platform and deliver it themselves, in order to earn a few dollars more in the delivery fee , which also reflects that the entry of Meituan means more of an inevitable choice for these small restaurants; another common way to reduce costs and continue to operate is to work hard on food quality. place, which has brought huge food safety hazards.

Another point worth noting during the restaurant visit is that many small restaurants—especially the food stall owners in the Food City, are themselves migrant workers. When the appearance of Meituan made their business difficult, some The shopkeeper worked hard all his life and returned to the pre-liberation overnight. From the side, it can be seen that large platform companies like Meituan have squeezed the living space of the people at the bottom to a certain extent. If things go on like this, it is only a matter of time before social conflicts intensify. This can also be seen in other platform companies. For example, there are many Didi drivers in Shenzhen who originally opened small shops and small restaurants in industrial areas. The development of Meituan, Taobao and the logistics industry has changed people’s shopping habits. There is no business to do, so I can only open Didi. In the several protests against Didi in Shenzhen, their performance was relatively active.

All in all, understanding and adjusting the relationship between Meituan and restaurant merchants is as important as adjusting the relationship between Meituan and riders, whether it is to protect riders and small merchants—these two groups are mostly considered "vulnerable groups" by the mainstream media— The same is true in terms of the livelihood and interests of the people, the protection of public food safety, and even the protection of public safety and the alleviation of social conflicts. These questions are worth thinking about for each of us.

4.6 Mental health of riders

The psychological pressure that takeaway riders have to bear at work comes from all aspects. First of all, the pressure comes from the hidden dangers of the rider's work safety, overloaded workload and uncertain labor security. The ever-compressed delivery time of the platform, fines and downgrades caused by overtime delivery, and various reward and punishment rules (such as rider level judgment, etc.) force many riders to speed on the road, run red lights or even drive in the opposite direction. The so-called flexible employment often brings overload and overtime workload. In our research, we often see full-time riders who work more than 12 hours a day (including delivery and crowdsourcing), while part-time riders are usually a It is very worrying for the fatigue driving and potential safety hazards caused by the work of the rider after the end of the first job. We can often see the video data of the rider's road accident on the Internet, and due to the legal protection of flexible employment and the identification Imperfect, riders who have road safety problems may not be able to get compensation and vacations. These safety and security issues will undoubtedly increase the psychological pressure and worry for riders who run on the road every day.

Secondly, riders are subject to management from various aspects, including platforms, contractor sites, and social management (such as community and shopping mall security), which will bring work pressure to riders, such as the platform’s workload and wages for riders. Judgment, work quality evaluation and other aspects have absolute control, and the rider can control very little space. Our research found that some riders had their orders canceled many times by the webmaster due to disagreements with the webmaster, and they had to be forced to leave their jobs in the end. The personal management of riders by sites and platforms will actually affect their work and psychological state.

Third, the rider’s psychological pressure also comes from the nature of the “service industry”. The rider is an intermediary who directly faces merchants and customers. Occasionally, unreasonable demands from both sides of the order will also bring mental health problems to the rider virtually. question. For example, sometimes merchants are slow to deliver meals, but click on the delivered meal on the platform, which will shorten the delivery time of the rider. If there is a problem with the delivery, the customer will vent their anger on the rider. It is a typical incident that the rider who appeared recently was canceled the order and smashed the takeaway in front of the customer. During this process, many problems occurred, especially the platform failed to deal with the equipment damage during the food delivery process in a timely manner and the resulting long time and customer complaints. However, these problems should be caused by this "service "Industry" the front rider to undertake.

These various psychological problems are especially prominent in novice riders, and it is also an important reason for the huge turnover of personnel in this industry. Many riders leave after a few months, and it is rare for veteran riders to do it for half a year.

V. Conclusion

Of course, different riders have given us feedback on many other issues. For the sake of space, we will not list and discuss them here. No matter in terms of structure or content, this is not a typical report. This is mainly because due to the influence of many uncertain factors such as the organization method and the epidemic situation, the questionnaire and interview data we obtained cannot allow us to have a comprehensive overview of the labor and living conditions and labor rights of platform workers supported by sufficient evidence. Report. But fortunately, it is enough for us to see some problems in platform labor. Some problems have entered public discussion and have policy results. However, combined with the evidence collected by first-hand research, we propose that there is still more room for discussion. After all, public policy concerns the interests of many people in society, and no amount of careful and prudent discussions can be overstated. There are still some issues that have not yet fully entered the public discussion agenda but are related to the vital interests of riders. We will extract some clues, clues and examples from the collected research materials to illustrate the nature and importance of the issues, in the hope that these issues will be obtained. With more social attention, potential problems will receive corresponding policy responses as soon as possible, and social conflicts will be resolved in the bud.

Since the emergence and rapid rise of the platform economy and the broader digital economy nearly 10 years ago, my country’s governance of the platform economy and the Internet economy has undergone policy deregulation and strong support, and has entered a stage of regulation. The development of Internet companies and platform companies in the past ten years has attracted a large amount of capital and established advanced Internet infrastructure. However, the lack of regulation has also brought many intricate social problems and even crises during this rise. This requires A lengthy governance process to deal with. We are pleased to see that workers in the digital economy have become the focus of policy attention, and the government has made some regulatory efforts. Against this background, this report hopes to provide evidence-based recommendations for this governance process.