The key to ensuring the minimum wage rights of online contract workers is to improve the algorithm rules

  Li Yingfeng

  Recently, the Beijing Municipal Employment Work Leading Group issued the "Measures to Promote the Development of New Employment Forms", which clearly included "platform online hire workers" including Meituan riders and Didi drivers in the scope of the minimum wage system.

This means that according to the minimum wage of 2320 yuan/month that Beijing has just implemented on August 1, the labor remuneration paid by platform companies to “platform online hire workers” who provide normal labor shall not be less than 2,320 yuan.

(September 26, "Beijing Youth Daily")

  The minimum wage system is an important part of my country’s labor security system. It is mainly based on labor relations, labor contracts and other conditions to provide minimum labor remuneration to workers who have provided normal labor within statutory time or agreed time. The basic life of its family members is a labor protection policy with a bottom line function.

At present, most workers in new businesses such as takeaway riders and online ride-hailing drivers are flexible employees and have not signed labor contracts with platforms or related companies.

Beijing has included these online contract workers into the guarantee scope of the minimum wage system and expanded the guarantee boundary of the minimum wage system. This is a positive labor protection breakthrough, a further confirmation of the new type of online contract labor relations, and labor security in the field of flexible employment. The system is developed and perfected.

  In recent years, functional departments have actively explored and strengthened labor security for workers in new businesses.

In July last year, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and other departments issued the "Opinions on Supporting the Healthy Development of New Business Forms and New Models, Activating the Consumer Market and Driving Employment Expansion", requiring "improvement of policies and systems for the protection of labor rights and interests, premium payment, and remuneration of flexible employees. Clarify the corresponding responsibilities of platform companies in the protection of workers' rights and interests, guarantee workers' basic remuneration rights, right to rest and occupational safety, and clarify the rights and obligations of all parties involved."

In July this year, eight departments including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Development and Reform Commission, and the Federation of Trade Unions issued the "Guiding Opinions on Safeguarding Labor Security Rights and Interests of New Employment Forms", which clearly stated that "Improving the minimum wage and payment security system, and promoting will not fully comply with the establishment of labor Workers with new forms of employment in relation to the situation are included in the scope of system protection."

  Subsequently, seven departments including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Development and Reform Commission, and the State Administration for Market Supervision issued the "Guiding Opinions on Implementing the Responsibilities of Online Catering Platforms and Effectively Protecting the Rights and Interests of Food Delivery Staff", requiring the platform to establish an income distribution mechanism that matches work tasks and labor intensity. Ensure that the normal labor income of food delivery staff is not lower than the local minimum wage standard.

Beijing's inclusion of platform-based online hire workers in the scope of minimum wage guarantees is an active implementation of the above-mentioned opinions and has a strong leading and exemplary significance.

  Online appointment workers mainly obtain labor remuneration by running orders. The amount of their labor remuneration is directly related to factors such as working time, labor efficiency, platform algorithms, rewards and punishments, etc. The minimum wage guarantee system for online appointment workers must be implemented. These factors need to be considered.

Relevant platforms are in a dominant position in online labor relations, and the minimum wage should be guaranteed by optimizing and perfecting the wage algorithm rules, and the minimum wage should be paid in place.

  Due to the flexibility of online labor appointments, relevant platforms need to provide a reasonable standard (ie, normal labor standards) for online appointment labor hours and labor volume within the minimum wage system, and rely on the standards to "take the middle" and "be more lenient". In principle, formulate wage algorithms and assessment rewards and punishment rules to ensure that workers can meet the minimum wage guarantee conditions under the premise of providing normal labor.

If the worker provides normal labor and the remuneration is lower than the minimum wage, the platform should have a mechanism to make up for the bottom of the wages.

  Flexible employees also have the right to rest and vacation, and the platform should make arrangements for this when designing the minimum wage algorithm and protecting the rights and interests of the minimum wage.

If workers engage in online work for a certain period of time, take reasonable and appropriate vacations due to illness or work, or even take paid annual vacations, and cannot meet the normal labor volume standard within a certain wage cycle, the platform should also issue a minimum wage.

The key to protecting the rights and interests of the minimum wage for online hires is to improve the algorithm rules. This requires both the responsibility of the enterprise and the supervision of the supervisory department and the labor union.