The hardships and helplessness of delivery riders
As a leading food delivery platform in China, Meituan's rider team can be said to be the cornerstone of supporting the operation of the entire industry. Rain or shine, they roam the streets of the city, delivering hot food to customers quickly. This group of workers who pay silently often suffers from the cold reception from the platform and society.
There are two types of Meituan delivery riders: full-time riders and crowdsourcing riders. There are obvious differences between the two in terms of work patterns, income, and rights and interests. Full-time riders are directly hired by Meituan and have fixed working hours and basic salaries, but the payment of wages is controlled by the stationmaster, and salaries are often deducted. Crowdsourcing riders, on the other hand, are more like freelancers, who can take orders flexibly according to their own time, and do not have to worry about being deducted from their daily wages, but at the same time, it also means that their income is not guaranteed and their working hours are uncertain.
The reason why crowdsourcing riders are in such a bad situation is largely due to Meituan's view of them as "tools" to be used and exploited at will.
Meituan lacks basic humanistic care for crowdsourcing riders. As an Internet company, Meituan focuses more on profit maximization and efficiency improvement than on the vital interests of its employees. For crowdsourcing riders, they are not regular employees of Meituan, but more like alternative temporary workers, so Meituan naturally does not think too much about protecting their rights and interests.
Meituan's management of crowdsourcing riders is too lax. The threshold for joining is low, as long as you are 18-60 years old, in good health, and have transportation, you can register as a crowdsourcing rider. This has undoubtedly attracted a large number of people with no professional training, who have little understanding of industry rules and their own rights and interests, and can easily be exploited by Meituan. Meituan's day-to-day management of riders is also relatively loose, and except for irregular safety tests, it is basically free to take care of them.
In the face of Meituan's current situation of using riders as "tools", it is necessary for us to reflect and change. As an indispensable part of urban life, the rights and interests of food delivery riders should be given sufficient attention and protection.
The government and relevant departments shall issue specific laws and regulations to clearly regulate the rights and interests of food delivery riders, such as working hours, labor compensation, and social security, and increase the force of law enforcement to ensure that the regulations are effectively implemented. It is also necessary to strengthen the supervision of food delivery platforms to prevent their excessive exploitation and exploitation of riders.
Food delivery riders should consciously protect their own rights and interests, form trade unions or similar workers' organizations, and negotiate with the platform through collective bargaining to strive for fairer and more reasonable treatment. The power of individuals is small, and only in solidarity can they occupy an advantageous position in the struggle against the capitalists.
The whole society should establish respect and care for the group of food delivery riders. They bring great convenience to our lives, but they are often treated coldly and discriminated against. We need to change this narrow concept and give riders the courtesy they deserve, so that they can feel the warmth of society.