According to the data, as of March 2024, the number of online ride-hailing drivers in mainland China has exceeded 6.7 million, and the scale of the staff is still rising. As a new form of employment, the interests of online car-hailing drivers have not been well protected.
At the beginning of this year, the General Office of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security issued the "Two Guidelines and One Guide", aiming to "guide" all parties to determine reasonable salaries, rest periods, evaluation rewards and punishments, and clarify the mechanism for protecting the rights of workers in labor disputes, in order to effectively promote the full implementation of laws, regulations and policies on production safety and the protection of labor rights and interests by platform economy enterprises, and safeguard the safety and labor rights and interests of online ride-hailing drivers and other workers.
It is worth noting that in the "Two Guidelines and One Guideline", a number of articles suggest that trade union organizations should play the role of helping workers negotiate and defend their rights.
For example, when determining the rest period, the trade union may take into account the characteristics of the industry and the actual situation of the enterprise, and help online ride-hailing drivers or workers in new forms of employment negotiate with the platform on an equal footing to reasonably determine the maximum continuous order receiving time and the maximum daily working time.
At the same time, platform enterprises formulate or revise labor rules that directly involve the rights and interests of workers in new forms of employment, and the guidelines recommend that they solicit opinions from workers in advance and fully listen to the opinions and suggestions of trade unions.
In terms of rights protection, the guidelines clarify that workers in new forms of employment have the right to join trade unions. In addition, trade union organizations should supervise the performance of employment responsibilities by platform enterprises and platform employment cooperative enterprises, and may also apply to trade union organizations for legal aid and other services when workers in new employment forms feel that their rights and interests have been harmed and file a lawsuit with the court.
It can be said that the trade union is the "mother's home" of new forms of employment such as online car-hailing drivers, and it is the support for online car-hailing drivers! Recently, more and more ride-hailing drivers have found their "mother's home".
On May 11, witnessed by the relevant leading comrades of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, 11,000 Didi online car-hailing drivers in Jilin Province joined the "big family" of the trade union.
On the same day, the Hebei Provincial Federation of Trade Unions also held a centralized membership activity for Didi online car-hailing and truck drivers in the province, and 1,187 drivers joined the union.
On the morning of May 12, Anhui Province also held a centralized union membership ceremony for Didi Chuxing Company and the province's online car-hailing drivers and truck drivers, with a total of 2,169 members of the new development online car-hailing drivers and truck drivers trade union. Many departments said that they will help drivers solve urgent problems, effectively safeguard legitimate rights and interests, and enhance the sense of professional honor and social belonging of new employment groups.
In addition, it will be implemented in various parts of the country in the future. For online car-hailing drivers, it is undoubtedly a blockbuster benefit.
For ordinary ride-hailing drivers, joining a union is tantamount to finding an "organization". Trade unions can not only provide drivers with all kinds of inclusive services, including but not limited to cash assistance, serious illness assistance, psychological counseling, legal aid, etc. for drivers in difficulty. If you have any disputes with the platform or the company, or even if you encounter any trouble, you can ask the union for help, instead of being at a loss as to what to do. For example, after the Damei Expressway accident, the trade union immediately sent a subsidy of 100,000 yuan to the family of the deceased online car-hailing driver.
More importantly, with the "support" of the trade union, it can also enhance the voice of the drivers. For a long time, whether it is the pricing, commission or reward and punishment rules of online car-hailing, the online car-hailing platform has the absolute right to speak, and the driver either accepts or withdraws, and there is no third choice. But with the union, it is different, when the driver's personal opinion is not enough to shake the platform's policy, and the driver's legitimate rights and interests are infringed, the union will stand up and speak. Last year, Wuhan workers negotiated and signed a collective contract with online ride-hailing platforms, and the percentage of the commission should not exceed 23%.
With unions, drivers have homes. With the support of the trade union, the drivers have to negotiate with the platform and have confidence. If you're a unionist, what issues would you most like the organization to negotiate for you?