Chinese market regulator improves protection of food delivery workers

A delivery man delivers goods in Daxing District of Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 20, 2021. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)

BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities on Monday issued a guideline to protect the rights and interests of food delivery workers in terms of minimum wages, delivery deadlines and social insurance.

Employers should ensure that food delivery workers earn no less than the local minimum wage, according to the guideline issued by seven departments including the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Cyberspace Administration of China, and the National Development and Reform Commission.

The "strictest algorithm" should not be used as an assessment requirement and the delivery time requirements should be appropriately relaxed, it said.

Platforms should participate in social insurance programs for the food delivery personnel they employ, and people working for other types of employers are encouraged to join also, it said.

The guideline also stressed the importance of efforts to ensure traffic safety for food couriers, and called for more smart kiosks and the development of smart helmets.