HONG KONG: The delivery man got wet with gasoline and burned himself. Enraged in flames, he protested what he said were unpaid fees from a business linked to Chinese technology giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
“I want my blood and sweat money back,” ash-covered man Liu Jin said as police officers tried to quickly take him to the hospital on Monday, he showed a video shared on the social networks.
Mr. Liu, 48, who survived but suffered severe burns, is one of millions of workers in China’s technology sector, whose situation has ignited online complaints from the country’s internet giants by internet users and state media. The outcry highlights the grueling working conditions and cutting-edge work practices that many blue-and-white-collar workers face as Internet companies work to combat users.
Liu delivered meals through a subcontractor of Alibaba’s Ele.me food delivery service in the Chinese city of Taizhou, according to the local government. Ele.me said he has paid Mr. Liu’s medical expenses and continues to help him and his family. He also said that Ele.me prohibits the agencies he works with from defaulting on payment from delivery companies and that he is investigating the case.
In recent weeks, Pinduoduo Inc., a fast-growing e-commerce company that now rivals Alibaba for some measures, has also been criticized after the deaths of two 20-year-old workers: one collapsed on its way home from at 1:30 I am and the other jumped from a great height. Pinduoduo confirmed the facts and expressed his condolences to the families of the workers.