【China Labor Security News】Strengthening policy and institutional guarantees, improving the construction of the gig market

Source: China Labor Security News (Theoretical Edition), May 17, 2024, 3rd edition

Xue Huiyuan, Wu Xinyun

In recent years, gig markets have flourished in various regions. The gig market refers to a market that provides labor services in a part-time, temporary, and phased manner. It can provide more flexible employment options for employers and offer workers more employment choices. As an important carrier of flexible employment opportunities, the gig market plays a crucial role in expanding various forms of employment channels, alleviating employment pressure, and promoting employment structure adjustment and innovation. At present, the construction of the gig market is showing initial results, and the overall development of gig employment is improving. However, there are still problems in some areas such as a small number of gig platforms, prominent structural contradictions in employment, and difficulty in protecting gig employment rights. Efforts are needed to promote the effectiveness of the gig market.

Existing issues

Lack of formal venues and chaotic market order. One is the chaotic management of market order. During the process of finding a job, gig workers often encounter harsh weather conditions. Due to the lack of shading and rain protection facilities, as well as the absence of coordinating and supervising units and personnel, gig workers gathered on their own in the "road market", and disorderly vehicles and personnel occupied the roads and space. The second issue is the lack of a reasonable communication mechanism and pricing system, resulting in chaotic pricing and vicious competition. When negotiating salary for gig workers, there is a lack of fixed standards, leading to problems such as sky high demands and vicious competition. Thirdly, inaccurate and incomplete employment information can lead to conflicts and contradictions between employees and employers. In the gig market, temporary recruitment only briefly explains the nature and compensation of the job, with less detailed information about the job content, requirements, duration, location, etc., resulting in a mismatch between the two parties' information.

The employment guarantee is not perfect, and the supply-demand contradiction is prominent. One issue is the lack of standardized written basis between employees and employers, making it difficult to resolve disputes through legal means. Some gig work platforms lack contract awareness and adopt oral or simple written agreements without standardized labor contract texts and formats. In the process of registering and publishing information, the lack of labor protection clauses can easily lead to the risk of information being stolen and sold by illegal platforms. Some gig markets are filled with 'black intermediaries', and illegal and even criminal activities such as false recruitment occur from time to time. The second issue is the imbalance between supply and demand, where the skills of gig workers do not match some emerging employment demands. The business ability of gig workers is generally low, and there is a lack of accumulated professional skills. For some jobs with high income and technical barriers, they are often unable to cope. Thirdly, the occupational injury protection and labor safety and health rights of gig workers cannot be fully protected. Many gig workers' workplaces are temporary or private spaces that have not been reviewed and certified, with worrying labor safety and health conditions.

The responsibilities of the department are vague, there is a shortage of construction funds, and the strength of public organizations and service personnel is insufficient. One is the vague responsibility for providing public services in the gig market. The organizer of the gig market is the Human Resources and Social Security Department, with cooperation from departments such as Civil Affairs, Finance, Housing and Urban Rural Development, and Municipal Supervision. But in some places, the division of labor and arrangements for cooperating departments are very vague. The enforcement power and force of the human resources and social security department are limited, and without the support and cooperation of other departments, it is difficult to achieve normalized supervision of the gig market. Secondly, there is a shortage of funds for the construction of the gig market, and some counties and districts face difficulties in allocating funds, making it difficult to guarantee the construction funds for the gig market. The third issue is the insufficient strength of public organizations and service personnel in the gig market, with inadequate service supply and promotion. On the one hand, whether it is direct dispatch or purchasing services, county and district governments need to invest manpower and funds. Most gig markets are still in the early stages of registering, publishing, and organizing specialized job fairs for job seekers, with insufficient functions in providing supporting extended services such as social security, legal aid, and vocational training for gig workers. On the other hand, the promotion effect of the gig market and labor brands is poor, and social awareness and understanding are limited. Many companies and gig workers still adhere to the traditional concept of "doing odd jobs" and lack a strong sense of identification. The effectiveness of building labor service brands in most gig markets is not significant, which reflects the shortcomings of the gig market in enhancing the visibility, recognition, and reputation of characteristic labor service brands.

Suggestions and countermeasures

To improve the construction of the gig market, the author puts forward several suggestions.

Strengthen regulatory construction, provide institutional compliance, and enhance job expansion support for key industries and enterprises. Refine specific regulations on the qualifications of employment entities, drafting of labor agreements, consultation and rights protection channels, etc., to safeguard the rights and interests of gig workers. Strengthen regular supervision, adhere to long-term norms, establish a regular scheduling and reporting system, and promote the orderly development of the gig market. Adhere to the public welfare nature of the gig market, provide free public employment services, strictly prohibit disguised charges under the pretext of strengthening management, and raise the threshold for employment. Encourage local governments to allocate special funds for the construction of gig markets based on their financial situation. Develop regional gig worker guidance prices and employment standards, set reasonable gig worker salaries based on industry, position, skills, duration, and other factors, to prevent price chaos or intensified competition. Intensify support for job expansion in key industries and enterprises. Provide policy incentives such as tax reductions, social security subsidies, and training subsidies to key enterprises. For units and individuals who enter the station to negotiate labor services, priority services will be provided in applying for entrepreneurial guarantee loans, vocational training subsidies, social security subsidies, and other aspects.

Strengthen employment security, enhance vocational skills, and strengthen the ability of gig workers to sustain employment and increase income. Carry out targeted skills training and create a learning and communication platform for the gig market. Local governments need to fully tap into the advantages and characteristics of local human resources, assess industry vacancies, establish labor service brands, carry out targeted skills training, and create a spiral chain of "training evaluation employment retraining" for gig workers to achieve long-term career accumulation. In the context of limited human resources in the public sector, high-quality social capital can be introduced to provide social security, labor rights protection, work-related injury identification, career planning, entrepreneurial guidance and other services for gig workers, further expanding the depth and breadth of public services in the gig market. Gradually include all gig workers in the current occupational injury protection system. Collaborate with third-party organizations such as public welfare organizations to provide more assistance and support to groups such as women, workers over retirement age, and people with disabilities.

Integrate online and offline, activate idle resources, and promote efficient matching of personnel and positions. Make full use of idle spaces and resources, and provide convenient job search venues based on the distribution of gig workers and urban planning. Hubei Province adheres to the work philosophy of "wherever gig workers gather, post stations are built and services are guaranteed", promoting gig worker post stations into communities (villages), central blocks, and industrial parks; Shandong Province combines urban and rural construction and development plans to create a new model of "2+2" gig market construction with different styles, service focuses, and target audiences. Show humanistic care and enhance the sense of identity and happiness of gig workers. Provide free rental services for ordinary tools to solve the inconvenience of carrying tools for gig workers; Equipped with facilities such as water dispensers, microwave ovens, medical kits, chargers, and bulletin boards, providing a place for outdoor workers and gig workers to rest and recharge. Strengthen online construction, use the advantages of the Internet to save the cost of information exchange, and facilitate the quick connection between employees and employers. Through manual follow-up and system matching, improve the clarity of job seekers' resumes and job adaptability, prevent the existence of "black intermediaries", and avoid labor disputes. Using fresh forms such as "store exploration style" live recruitment to comprehensively display job information and help gig workers understand job situations in advance. By verifying the qualifications of the enterprise and conducting on-site inspections, the authenticity of job information is verified to prevent the disconnection of online and offline information.

(Author affiliation: Wuhan University Social Security Research Center)