Eight departments jointly issued a document to strengthen occupational injury protection for workers in new employment forms
New format workers are expected to solve their worries
● In recent years, with the rapid development of the platform industry relying on the rise of the Internet, the number of new employment forms of labor engaged in the platform economy, such as online delivery personnel, online car-hailing drivers, and Internet marketers, has continued to increase
● The labor relations of new employment forms are more flexible, diverse and complex, and face greater occupational risks. How to strengthen their occupational injury protection has become an issue that cannot be ignored
● In view of the current urgent problems that need to be solved such as occupational injury protection for takeaway brothers, priority should be given to the introduction of systems and pilot projects to carry out related work.
At present, it is recommended to include this group of people in the work injury insurance system so that they can enjoy work injury insurance benefits and give priority to solving the problem of injury without medical treatment and injury without compensation.
□ Our reporter Zhao Li
□ Intern Yang Yinan
"We don't have'five social insurance and one housing fund'. The platform will directly deduct 80 yuan from the salary every month, saying that it paid us personal accident insurance. As for where to pay, how to pay, and how much, I don’t know. "Master Zhang, 47 years old this year, is a full-time rider. He has been in the food delivery industry in Beijing for 4 years. At the beginning of the year, he just moved from Hema Fresh to Meituan to buy food.
Master Zhang’s occupational injury protection rests on 80 yuan per month.
In recent years, with the rapid development of the platform industry based on the rise of the Internet, the number of new employment forms of labor engaged in the platform economy, such as online-hailing distributors, online car-hailing drivers, and Internet marketers, has continued to increase.
Compared with traditional labor relations, labor relations of new employment forms are more flexible, diverse and complex, and face greater occupational risks. How to strengthen their occupational injury protection has become an issue that cannot be ignored.
Recently, eight departments including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Transport jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Maintaining the Labor Security Rights and Interests of Workers in New Employment Forms", focusing on outstanding issues facing the protection of labor rights in new employment forms. , Improved the system of fair employment, labor remuneration, rest, labor safety, social insurance and other aspects of the new employment form that meets the conditions for establishing labor relations but not fully conforms to the conditions for establishing labor relations, strengthened occupational injury protection, and improved workers Appeal expression mechanism.
What problems are faced by the occupational injury protection of workers in the new employment form?
Can traditional work-related injury insurance be used to protect the rights and interests of workers in new forms of employment?
How to solve the current situation of unbalanced and inadequate occupational injury protection?
In this regard, a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily conducted an investigation.
Increased number of workers in new formats
Insufficient occupational injury protection
When Master Zhang delivered the last order and planned to go home to rest, it was already 11 o'clock in the evening.
“Although it’s a bit tiring to deliver food, it’s a lot of money, and the requirements are very low. As long as you can use a smart phone, can ride an electric bike, and have no illegal records.” Master Zhang is from Hebei and has a low education level and lacks Other professional skills.
Four years ago, he was introduced by a fellow villager to Beijing and became a full-time takeaway rider.
Unlike Master Zhang, Mr. Li from Guangzhou is a part-time rider.
His current job is an interior designer. He joined Meituan in May last year and started this part-time job.
"Crowdsourcing riders are actually part-time riders. They are more flexible and free than dedicated riders. They can go online to take orders as long as there is time. If the food delivery goes smoothly, it can increase income by two to three thousand yuan per month." Mr. Li said.
In addition to the most common takeaways among workers in the new employment form, there are also many online ride-hailing drivers.
Hao Xiaodou, a part-time driver of Dida Travel, is an employee of a bank in Jilin Province.
After get off work every day, Hao Xiaodou went online on the Dida platform and began to pick up passengers.
"Opening an online taxi does not delay my work. I can take a passenger on the way home from get off work, and at least earn gas money. On weekends, the income is higher." In his opinion, I open an online appointment part-time after work. The car is a good choice.
Low entry barriers, low requirements, flexible work, and more work to earn more are the main reasons why many people choose online platforms for flexible employment.
According to Huang Leping, director of Beijing Yilian Labor Law Aid and Research Center, such natural persons who rely on Internet platforms to provide labor services are called "online hires", also known as "online platform labor providers" and "new business type practitioners." .
Statistics show that there are currently 200 million people in flexible employment in my country, and the number of workers in new forms of employment has increased significantly.
In 2020, the number of sharing economy service providers will reach 84 million, of which a large number are workers in new forms of employment.
An unavoidable problem is that, while enjoying a lot of freedom and convenience, workers in new forms of employment also face many occupational risks, and most of them do not have sufficient awareness of occupational injury protection.
When talking about professional risks, Master Zhang said frankly, "We deliver food, and most of the risks we face are traffic accidents and personal accidents," because after all, running outside every day requires bumps and bumps.
But when it comes to occupational injury protection, Master Zhang said that he only knows that the platform will automatically deduct the insurance cost of 80 yuan from the salary every month, and he does not know anything else.
Occupational injury insurance, also known as work-related injury insurance, is based on various accidents or occupational injuries that occur during the work process. The state or society provides protection for people who are disabled or killed due to work-related injuries, exposure to occupational toxic and hazardous substances, etc. A type of social insurance that provides material assistance to the person and his family.
"Usually the supervisor will also emphasize that we should pay attention to safety during delivery. As for work injury insurance training, we have never done anything." Master Zhang told reporters that colleagues basically "contact the stationmaster or supervisor directly when there is something wrong."
Regarding occupational injury protection, Mr. Li, a part-time rider, also has a weak sense. "For the first order we go online every day, the platform will automatically deduct 3 yuan, and the platform says this is an insurance fee."
Speaking of this, Mr. Li said he didn't care too much, "Anyway, it's a part-time job, so I didn't think so much."
Cannot enjoy work injury insurance
Commercial insurance coverage is limited
The reporter learned that, in practice, the platform companies will pay corresponding work-related injury insurance for employees who formally join the company in accordance with relevant regulations.
However, the large number of crowdsourced riders and dispatchers have not signed a formal labor contract with the platform. Therefore, in accordance with the current rules and regulations, they cannot enjoy work-related injury insurance.
In response to this situation, Huang Leping explained: “my country’s work injury insurance system is based on and prerequisites for labor relations. All flexible employees who do not constitute labor relations with platform companies are not protected by the Social Insurance Law and the Work Injury Insurance Regulations. , After suffering an occupational injury, you cannot enjoy work injury insurance benefits."
"On the one hand, workers in the new form of employment face greater occupational risks, but occupational injury protection is relatively weak. On the other hand, workers in the new form of employment are not covered by the work-related injury insurance because they have not established a labor relationship. Inside." said Range, vice dean of the School of Labor Economics, Capital University of Economics and Business.
The reporter's investigation found that, in accordance with current laws and regulations, employees who have not signed labor contracts with companies are not required to pay work injury insurance. In order to reduce operating costs, some companies have specifically researched ways to avoid paying work injury insurance for their employees.
According to Huang Leping, some third-party agents and platform practitioners often sign non-labor contract written agreements such as "labor contracts" and "contracts", which formally exclude labor relations with practitioners.
In addition, in order to help platform companies reduce employment risks, solve fiscal and tax issues, and save management costs, some Internet flexible employment management platforms first "help" platform practitioners to register as "individual industrial and commercial households" in the name of entry, salary, etc. Sign contracting agreements and contracting agreements with platform enterprises and platform practitioners who have become "individual industrial and commercial households", forming a layered subcontracting legal relationship of "platform enterprises-flexible employment management platforms-platform practitioners".
"This new type of employment model artificially'packages' and'transforms' the labor relationship of workers in the new employment form, and completely realizes the'non-labor relationship' in form, and platform companies have therefore avoided paying work-related injury insurance. Obligation." Huang Leping said.
The reporter's survey found that in practice, most platform companies will purchase accidental injury insurance and other commercial insurance for platform practitioners to make up for the lack of work-related injury insurance.
However, in Huang Leping's view, this approach does not completely solve the problem. "Commercial insurance premiums are high and the degree of protection is low, and workers in new employment forms still cannot get basic occupational injury protection."
For insurance purchased by many platforms, in the actual claims settlement process, the approval process is stricter and it is more difficult to pay claims.
Takeaway rider Master Zhang encountered this situation, “A car hit me before, and the driver immediately took me to take a film. But when I went to the company for compensation, the insurance company said that my film was not approved. Nothing more".
Master Zhang also told reporters that a colleague who crashed into someone else's car last year lost 600 yuan. The insurance company did not reimburse the claim until this year.
Because the approval of insurance claims is cumbersome and the waiting time is long, "for ordinary trivial matters, we will not go through insurance claims. If we can go private, we will do it on the spot."
In this regard, the scope explains: "The amount of premiums paid by workers in the new employment form is relatively low, and commercial insurance is for profit. Commercial insurance companies take into account the cost issue, and the amount of compensation given is bound to be limited. "
Aiming at the limitation of commercial insurance protection, Huang Leping explained the commercial insurance purchased by a certain food delivery platform for delivery staff as an example.
He said that the service fee of this commercial insurance is 3 yuan per day (the annual premium exceeds 1,000 yuan), but the protection liability only includes "accidental injury liability with an insured amount of 650,000 yuan + accidental medical care with an insured amount of 50,000 yuan + 30,000 yuan. Sudden death of insured amount”; Calculated based on the average salary of platform practitioners of 6,000 yuan, the rate is 1.5%, which is much higher than the 0.5% of the work injury insurance participation rate of similar enterprises, but the amount of compensation guaranteed is much lower than that of work injury insurance. .
In Huang Leping's view, the limitation of commercial insurance protection is also reflected in two aspects: one is that this type of commercial insurance has more exemption clauses, and the insured needs to advance the treatment costs by himself, and then reimburse according to the proportion and items; It is that most commercial insurances only aim at the treatment of one-time injury accidents, and it is difficult to meet the long-term treatment, rehabilitation and life security needs of platform practitioners in the event of serious occupational injuries.
Speed up the pace of system construction
Urgently use first and orderly push away
At the State Council’s regular policy briefing held by the State Council Information Office on August 18, the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security pointed out that when the level of occupational injury protection faced by flexible employees is too low, he pointed out that considering the establishment of a flexible platform The occupational injury protection system for employees is a complex, wide-ranging, and policy-oriented institutional innovation. It is a brand-new field. Therefore, it is planned to start with travel, takeaway, and immediate Starting with the industries of distribution and intra-city freight, some provinces and cities with a good working foundation are selected to pilot projects. After the system is mature, it will be rolled out in an orderly manner to effectively protect the rights and interests of flexible employment personnel on the platform.
At the same time, the person in charge proposed to carry out occupational injury protection pilot projects in accordance with the principle of urgent use first, and strive to solve the problem of unbalanced and insufficient occupational injury protection as soon as possible.
In this regard, the scope believes that, in fact, it is necessary to fully consider the urgency and urgency of the protection of the rights and interests of laborers involved in new forms of employment, and that the rights in urgent need of protection need to be improved in advance and resolved by legislation.
From the current point of view, the occupational injury protection for workers in the new employment form is relatively lacking, and the pace of system construction should be accelerated.
“For takeaway boys’ occupational injury protection and other urgent problems that need to be resolved, priority should be given to introducing systems and piloting related work. At present, it is recommended that such people be included in the work-related injury insurance system so that they can enjoy work-related injury insurance benefits and prioritize solutions. The problem of injury without medical treatment and injury without shirt." Huang Leping said.
Regarding the strengthening of occupational injury protection, the above-mentioned person in charge also pointed out that the current initial consideration is to clarify that the occupational injury protection of workers in the new employment form is the positioning of social insurance, that is, the government-led protection system, which is within the framework of the current work-related injury insurance system. Establish and implement; innovate policies and methods, unblock the occupational injury protection channels for platform enterprises and platform flexible employees; pilot projects first.
The scope believes: "Because the framework clearly states that occupational injury protection is positioned as social insurance, in the future system construction, occupational injury protection for workers in new employment forms may be compulsory under the leadership of the government to participate in the insurance under the leadership of the government; social insurance is a non-profit In nature, it can make up for the current problems of flexible employment, such as the inability to enjoy work-related injury insurance and the low level of commercial insurance protection."
“Some institutional innovations may be needed to adapt to the actual characteristics of the platform and the new employment forms of workers.” As for the new employment forms, the occupational injury protection for workers has the characteristics of complex relationships, wide coverage, and strong policies. The occupational injury protection system for workers in new employment forms requires many considerations: the difference between workers in labor relations and workers in new employment forms and the difference in security levels; the balance between the protection of workers’ rights in new employment forms and the development of platform enterprises Wait.
"Policies are only the basis, and more importantly, they are implemented." According to lawyer Zhang Bifei, a partner of Beijing Haotianxinhe Law Firm, strengthening the protection of occupational injuries for workers in new forms of employment requires the joint efforts of all parties.
For the platform, it should strictly abide by the relevant systems, pay the corresponding insurance for the employees, do the relevant daily training, and inform the employees of the corresponding protection rules.
At the same time, in response to the problems that may arise during the implementation of policies, the government should also strengthen supervision in addition to corresponding penalties and audit policies, urge platform companies to perform their duties effectively, ensure the effective implementation of relevant policies, and ensure that workers enjoy new forms of employment. To a more balanced and adequate occupational injury protection.