Guidelines protect rights of food deliverymen

Chinese authorities have rolled out a series of guidelines defining the responsibilities of online catering platforms, including ensuring that food deliverymen earn above the country's minimum wage, in a move to protect the legitimate rights and interests of such workers.

According to the guidelines jointly issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation and six other governmental departments on July 26, platforms are prohibited from using the most stringent algorithm to evaluate a rider's performance.

Instead, platforms have to use a moderate algorithm that allows more time for riders to finish their deliveries.

Further, to ensure safety, platforms should improve their order assignment systems and optimize delivery routes to ensure that riders are given a reasonable number of orders, the guidelines said.

Authorities also urged platforms and the third-party companies they cooperate with to help riders gain access to social security insurance and to explore diversified commercial insurance plans for them.

The guidelines call for setting up temporary rest stations for riders, developing smart lockers for fetching deliveries and researching smart helmets for riders so as to improve working conditions and stabilize employment.