The fitness instructor went to deliver food, the store owner drove the car online, and the company employee turned into a courier brother...
In a special period, a group of migrant workers choose to do odd jobs to save the emergency
Experts suggest to expand the benefits of social insurance and moderately loosen the connection between insurance and employment relations
Our reporter Qu Xinyue
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Affected by the epidemic, the original work of many migrant workers was impacted, and odd jobs became their source of income during the epidemic. With the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, how does the gig economy change from expediency to a long-term strategy? Workers believe that more skills are needed to increase their sense of security. Experts suggest to moderately loosen the connection between social insurance and employment relations, and expand the benefits of unemployment insurance during special periods such as epidemics.
Fitness instructors go to takeaways, shop owners open online car rentals, and company employees deliver couriers... Affected by the epidemic, many workers' original jobs have been impacted and face unemployment risks. At this time, a job with a relatively low threshold for entry and flexible entry and exit has become an important guarantee for their stable income source during the epidemic. Under the normal situation of epidemic prevention and control, this new form of employment has helped many migrant workers solve their urgent needs.
With the continuous development and growth of the platform economy, flexible employment is no longer just a part-time job, but a self-employment under a new format. On July 15, 13 departments including the Development and Reform Commission jointly issued a document expressly encouraging the development of a new individual economy. So how does the gig economy provide employment for migrant workers? Can the expediency during the epidemic be a long-term strategy to stabilize income in the future? The reporter conducted an interview and investigation.
This odd job solves the urgent need
Master Li from Hebei used to run a shoe store in a shopping mall in Fengtai District, Beijing. "The monthly rent is 20,000 yuan, and the clerk's monthly salary is 5,000 yuan. It is really unable to support, and it is a loss when driving." Master Li told the Worker Daily newspaper that the store business has not improved since the epidemic, and last month. He strove to relinquish the store that had been in operation for many years.
Fortunately for Master Li, he came to Beijing to work hard for many years. With a car, he registered on the platform three years ago as an online car driver. This was originally a job of "running in idle time", but I didn't expect to rely on it to support my family now.
"Every month does not count oil money, it can earn seven or eight thousand yuan, enough for family expenses." Master Li told reporters that many friends who do business together have opened online car rentals during this time. "There is no business opportunity at this time. I can do this, and I will wait for some time."
Becoming a takeaway rider is even more urgent for Guangdong boy Liang Chao. Originally working as a cabinet installer in Guangdong, he came to Beijing to play with friends before the Spring Festival. The sudden outbreak prevented him from returning to Guangdong for a while, and he had to find a way to find a job in Beijing.
"It happened that there was a Meituan takeaway site near where I lived. I asked about salary and went to the interview." On the second day of the interview, Liang Chao was formally on the job. He was basically proficient in business after a week. "In February and March, at least one or two new people can come in every day at the station. Some are waiters in restaurants and some are workers in factories near Beijing," Liang Chao recalled.
"The kind of take-out boxes that are particularly new and riding a shiny new car, I know at first glance that they are newcomers." Master Cheng, a deliveryman who has been working for two years, told reporters that after the outbreak, he obviously felt that there were more and more takeouts on the street.
The threshold is lower, just do it
"I'm here for this job." Bai Yuedong, a takeaway rider from Bayannaoer, Inner Mongolia, said bluntly that choosing to become a takeaway rider is a fancy to the advantages of this flexible job.
Bai Yuedong, who once worked as a technician at a construction site, told reporters that due to the epidemic, many sites failed to start construction, and he began to pay attention to those tasks that are not high in the threshold and can be quickly started. "A new helmet, rider's suit, plus a meal box will cost 200 yuan in total. Renting an electric car will only cost 600 yuan a month." Bai Yuedong said, this is the entire cost of his entry.
On the first day of employment, the site arranged for a teacher to take him. The master will first draw him a few frequent business districts around him, let him step on it, and be familiar with the location of each shop. The next day, Bai Yuedong began to take orders formally.
"During the epidemic, some doors in the community let in, some doors did not let in, but the mobile phone navigation will not display." Bai Yuedong remembered that the first order received was to send a spicy hot to an office building, because the security guards did not let it go up, delaying It took a while. But after being familiar with the geographical location of the area, he was able to plan the time and route reasonably. This biggest difficulty was quickly overcome, and the daily delivery volume increased from the original 7 orders to more than 30 orders.
The flexible work rhythm of the takeaway also made Bai Yuedong feel quite free. "Single order for delivery is a single item of money. It is not as rigorous as performance evaluation for sales, and the work pressure is not great."
The reporter learned that many of the laborers engaged in flexible employment after the epidemic, like Bai Yuedong, fancy the flexibility of this job. Due to the low entry and exit costs of odd jobs, many workers are also prepared to return to their original job at any time or change to another job according to the situation when choosing this job.
How long does the gig economy promote employment?
Zhang Xi launched his graphic designer service online in April on the flexible employment platform Zhubajie. During the period of 618 e-commerce promotion, there was a large demand for designers, e-commerce customer service and other positions. In one month, she stayed at home and received three service orders, with a cumulative income of more than 20,000 yuan.
"There is talent to shine everywhere." In Zhang Xi's view, one of the skills to deal with the epidemic is the greatest "security", so she can rely on this skill to stay at home and achieve flexible employment.
Some analysts believe that for gigs, the gig economy is directly related to laborers’ experience and expertise, so skilled workers are more able to achieve long-term employment on flexible employment platforms.
Bai Yuedong said that although he is currently engaged in takeaway work and has temporarily solved his livelihood problems, he is still young and still looking forward to more opportunities to learn at work. "If there is an opportunity, I still want to improve the technology at the construction site."
The reporter noted that, for the vocational skills improvement training urgently needed by flexible employment groups, some flexible employment platforms have also begun to introduce relevant measures. For example, the Meituan food delivery platform has set up a special learning area for impoverished riders, such as the "Rider Riding School", and has launched different types of training courses.
At the same time, although many laborers have begun to try flexible employment, in the traditional concept, part-time work is still linked to unstable work and insecure security. How to solve the worries of laborers when doing odd jobs?
Sun Shouji, director of the Department of Labor Economics and Social Security at the University of International Business and Economics, believes that the employment of the new industry represented by the gig economy is constrained by factors such as complex employment forms, difficult determination of labor relations, and the threshold setting of the current social security system. In terms of obtaining social security rights There are many difficulties and the participation rate is low. "Because the employer is unclear, the social security is equivalent to being fully borne by individuals, and their income tends to fluctuate greatly, and there is a possibility of payment cancellation. Therefore, it is impossible to obtain the corresponding rights and interests according to the cumulative years of social security. Part of the laborers' enthusiasm to participate in insurance." Sun Shouji said.
Sun Shouji suggested that the relationship between social insurance and the employment relationship can be loosened moderately, such as exploring a multi-level unemployment security system, setting up an “unemployment assistance fund”, and expanding the benefits of unemployment insurance during special periods such as epidemics.
In the "Opinions on Supporting the Healthy Development of New Business Models and New Modes and Activating the Consumer Market to Promote Employment Expansion" promulgated by the 13 departments including the National Development and Reform Commission on July 15 To clarify the corresponding responsibilities of platform enterprises in the protection of laborers’ rights and interests, guarantee the basic compensation rights, rest rights and occupational safety of laborers, and clarify the rights and obligations of all parties involved. Explore and improve the new multi-point practice model of medical, education and other industries that are suitable for personal career development. Combined with the construction of a dual-innovation demonstration base, it supports the establishment of flexible employment and "shared employment" service platforms, providing online vocational training, flexible employment supply and demand matching and other employment services.