Two major Chinese technology companies, Didi Global and Jd.com, have set up working groups for their employees this week. Also called unions, these groups are controlled by workers and designed to protect their rights and interests in the workplace.
The creation of these unions is a major change in the technology industry in China, where organized labor is very rare.
Did Global is an online travel sharing business. Jd.com is an online marketplace.
From China regulator this agency has been closely monitoring the country’s largest technology companies this year. Regulators have harshly criticized the industry for having policies that abuse workers and violate the rights of buyers. The regulatory agency has initiated several investigations and ordered fines against some companies.
The government urges companies to establish programs to share wealth more fairly with workers. The push is part of President Xi Jinping’s plan to alleviate inequality in China, the largest economy after the United States.
At first, Didi workers at Beijing headquarters will oversee the union under the guidance of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions or ACTFU. This information comes from two people who are aware of it. People were not given permission to speak to the media and were asked not to be identified.
A newspaper related to the Beijing Trade Union Federation announced that JD.com had established a union. The report included photographs of the ceremony held by the company, which was attended by many government officials.
JD.com confirmed the news, saying some of its local jobs had created unions in recent years. He said the goal of the new union is to cooperate on planning and resources.
Didi did not respond to any requests for comment.
Didi has been criticized by state media for not paying his drivers fairly. The company said in April that it would create a group of drivers to solve the wage problem. The company has also been the subject of an investigation by several Chinese officials since its $ 4.4 billion stock market price in June.
Didi and JD.com are believed to be the largest technology companies to have created unions across the company. But officials in the Hubei area say unions have been set up for workers at Alibaba’s Meituan and Ele.me companies.
Meituan is an Internet service that allows users to order food, buy travel, entertainment, book house cleaning and do much more.
Ele.me is an online ordering service and delivery to eat.
Neither Meituan nor Alibaba responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Both food distribution companies have been criticized in the local media for the treatment of distribution workers. Companies do not offer most of these workers a basic social and medical basis insurance.
In July, the ACFTU and seven other Chinese government agencies issued guidelines on protecting the rights of these hired workers. He also suggested that unions play an important role in helping bargain with companies.
All unions in China are required to register with the ACFTU. But the agency has often been criticized for its inability to negotiate better conditions for workers.
Aidan Chau is a researcher at the China Labor Bulletin, a Hong Kong-based workers’ rights organization. He said the country’s unions mostly avoid facing abusive policies on big business. Instead, they deal directly with the problems of individual employees on a case-by-case basis. They also provide more general support to workers, such as safety and health programs.
Last month, China’s highest court ruled that a common employment policy, known as “996,” violates the law. “996” means working again in the morning to nine at night six days a week. to follow the “996” system.
I’m Alice Bryant.
The Reuters news agency reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it to learn English. Caty Weaver was the editor.
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Words in this story
regulator – adj. make or worry about making official rules about what is acceptable in a business, activity, and so on.
stock – n. a portion of the value of a business that can be bought, sold, or traded as an investment
delivery – n. the act of bringing something to a person or place
insurance – n. an agreement in which a person makes regular payments to a company and it promises to pay money for the person’s health care