dirightDigital Law JournalЦифровое право2686-9136Maxim Inozemtsev10.38044/2686-9136-2021-2-1-48-63diright-41Research ArticleARTICLESСТАТЬИDecent work for the digital platform workers. A preliminary survey in BeijingОбеспечение условий и охраны труда работников IT-платформ в Пекинеhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0612-1642СюйЯ.XuY.

Сюй Я. — Ph.D. in Economics, профессор Школы экономики и делового администрирования 

200044, Китайская Народная Республика, Пекин, район Хайдянь, ул. Синьцзекоувай, 19

Yan Xu — Ph.D. in Economics, Professor, School of Economics and Business Administration

19, Xinjiekouwai str., Haindian District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, 200044

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3977-6645ЛюД.LiuD.

Лю Д. — Ph.D. in Economics, преподаватель факультета экономики труда Школы экономики и менеджмента

100048, Китайская Народная Республика, Пекин, район Хайдянь, ш. Чжэнъян, 45

Dun Liu — Ph.D. in Economics, Lecturer of School of Economics and Management

45, Zengguang rd., Haidian District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, 100048

liudun@bjtu.edu.cnПекинский педагогический университетКитайBeijing Normal UniversityChinaКитайский университет трудовых отношенийКитайChina University of Labor RelationsChina202121042021214863Copyright © Xu Y., Liu D., 20212021Сюй Я., Лю Д.Xu Y., Liu D.Данная работа распространяется под лицензией Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.https://www.digitallawjournal.org/jour/article/view/41

This paper discusses the status and implications of the employment relations and working conditions experienced by digital platform workers; the analysis is based on a survey conducted in 2017 on 1 338 workers engaged in work-on-demand via apps (WODVA) from 25 platforms in Beijing, of whom 48.8 % are full-time WODVA workers or take WODVA as their primary job. The survey finds that nearly a half of the respondents engage in platform work due to a lack of employment opportunities in formal labor markets or their permanent jobs providing insufficient income. The respondents reveal substantial decent work deficits in representation, compensation, job stability, social protection, working time, and health and safety: 1) WODVA workers seldom have any voice in labor dispute settlements and have a very low rate of unionization; 2) about one third of the full-time WODVA workers cannot earn a living wage and 7.6 % of them earn less than the minimum wage level; 3) three quarters of the full-time WODVA workers have no labor contract with the platforms or other employers, nor access to employer-contributed social insurances; 4) overtime work and underemployment coexist among full-time respondents, with nearly 10 % working for fewer than 4 hours per day while nearly 10 % work for more than 11 hours per day; 5) a majority of respondents run a higher risk of occupational health or physical risks, without any protection provided by the platforms or employers. To promote decent work by digital platform workers, the State needs to establish a portable social security system extending to all workers, to facilitate association and collective actions of platform workers either by extending the outreach of traditional unions or fostering new forms of organizations, to leverage digital technology to facilitate platform workers’ organization and information sharing, and even to promote universal basic income and a workers’ cooperative of platforms in the long run.

В статье обсуждаются условия труда работников цифровых платформ. Опрос 1 338 респондентов, заня-

тых работой на 25 Интернет-платформах в Пекине (work-on-demand via apps, WODVA), показал, что почти половина из них работают на IT-платформах из-за отсутствия возможности трудоустройства на традиционном рынке труда или недостаточной заработной платы на основной работе. Респонденты отметили проблемы, связанные с невозможностью участия в деятельности профсоюзов, недостаточной заработной платой, отсутствием стабильности, социальной защищенности, а также проблемы регламентации рабочего времени, охраны труда и техники безопасности, а именно: 1) отсутствует эффективный механизм разрешения трудовых споров из-за недостаточной развитости профсоюзных организаций; 2) заработная плата около 1/3 опрошенных WODVA ниже прожиточного минимума, а 7,6 % — меньше минимального размера оплаты труда; 3) 3/4 работников WODVA, занятых полный рабочий день, не имеют трудового договора  с платформами или другими работодателями, а также доступа к социальному страхованию; 4) почти 10 % опрошенных работают более 11 часов в день, тогда как около 10 % заняты менее 4 часов в день; 5) у большинства респондентов отсутствуют гарантии по предоставлению медицинских услуг в связи с временной нетрудоспособностью из-за заболеваний. Государству необходимо распространить систему социального обеспечения на всех работников, в том числе занятых на IT-платформах, содействовать развитию профсоюзного движения с помощью традиционных либо современных способов, использовать цифровые технологии для оптимизации работы и обмена информацией. Более того, в долгосрочной перспективе государству необходимо установить минимальный размер заработной платы в рассматриваемой сфере.

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The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest present.