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Didi Global is helping workers establish their first union, and as China implements regulations to limit overwork and protect millions of blue-collar workers from exploitation, its tech giants may soon follow this groundbreaking decision.
According to people familiar with the matter, the Beijing-based ride-hailing giant announced the establishment of a labor union in an internal forum last week, but did not specify. One of the people who requested anonymity to discuss private information said that Didi drivers—mostly part-timers and lack full employee benefits—may be invited to join. Another person familiar with the matter said that colleagues, including the food delivery leader Meituan, are also studying the feasibility of an internal labor rights organization. Another person familiar with the matter said that employees of Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. have called for the formation of a union on their company forum.
Tech giants like Didi are responding to the demands of regulators that sharing economy giants improve the welfare of millions of low-wage workers who rely on driving growth. This stems from the “Common Prosperity” campaign initiated by Xi Jinping, which aims to allow the private sector to share the huge wealth accumulated during the decade-long Internet boom, while controlling its growing influence. In Didi’s case, the move could please Beijing, and the company is said to be working hard to ensure its survival after advancing a $4.4 billion IPO despite regulatory opposition.
Although in its infancy — and subverting the usual bottom-up process of change — the support for effective unions marks an important step for China’s technology industry. From Alibaba’s Jack Ma to Didi’s Cheng Wei and Meituan’s Wang Xing, the mobile boom has created an unprecedented number of tech billionaires, many of whom are now keen to show that they are giving back to society.
In recent years, gig economy workers from Silicon Valley to India have increasingly protested their rights, which has attracted the attention of politicians. In China, this problem has only recently surfaced following years of rapid expansion by companies such as Meituan, Alibaba, All Truck Alliance, and Pinduoduo in emerging areas ranging from community commerce to catering and grocery delivery.
Didi and Alibaba did not respond to written inquiries seeking comment. A Meituan representative did not comment on the union, but said in an e-mailed statement that it is focused on listening and helping its delivery personnel.
Didi is currently under investigation for infringing on data privacy rights. It published a long article in the Supreme Court of China and the Ministry of Labor, outlining 10 cases (including but not limited to the technology industry) where employees were forced to work overtime or were forced to work overtime. . In a hurtful way, use real and detailed court disputes to show how to combat violations of labor rights.
This article is seen as a new warning to tech giants, many of which are known for penalties and unreasonable overtime. For an industry that has withstood rigorous scrutiny from their treasure trove to data to local issues (such as mandatory drinking during official events), it adds to the challenge.
China’s science and technology workers are under tremendous pressure to work overtime for long periods of time to meet strict deadlines. At the same time, they often lack clear legal recourse-in stark contrast to Silicon Valley, which includes Apple, Google and Icons including Intel Corporation have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to solve a problem-a lawsuit filed by workers. Alibaba’s Ele. Me and Meituan have withstood criticism of the harsh treatment of gig economy workers, after several delivery workers were killed or injured while trying to meet strict deadlines.
The history of the Chinese trade unions can be traced back to 1921, when the Communist Party, which was just getting started, transformed workers into followers of Marxism. Aidan Chau, a researcher at the Hong Kong-based China Labor Bulletin, said that today, they are mostly government-backed branches of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, which has lost most of its effectiveness.
There are few strong unions in Chinese Internet companies, partly because the government hates self-organizing citizen groups that can weaken the party’s power. The lack of collective bargaining ability makes it difficult for many people to be heard. In a widely controversial case, a delivery driver of Alibaba’s Ele.me set himself on fire to protest wage arrears.
Xi Jinping has been calling for the ACFTU to reform and play a more active role in realizing his “Chinese Dream” since 2013. Zhou said this is the predecessor of his current “common prosperity” slogan.
A recent guidance document jointly issued by the Federation and seven other agencies hinted at impending changes. They say that unions can act as a bridge between gig workers and so-called platform companies and help facilitate commission negotiations.
Beijing hopes that trade unions can play a key role in filling the gaps in labor protection policies in the booming sharing economy, especially as Beijing promulgates strict new regulations. Among other things, the government intends to set an upper limit on the commissions charged by online car-hailing or meal delivery service providers to their drivers or business partners.
“The establishment of new unions in major technology companies can be seen as continuing to move in this direction,” Chau said in an email. “We have seen the establishment of trade unions in food delivery companies, express delivery companies, and now Internet companies. But from past experience, these trade unions do not organize workers, making workers a conscious subject and forming a fighting organization.”
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