Balancing market forces and government functions in the digital economy
Improve the evaluation system of harmonious labor relations in enterprises
Standardize platform employment to protect the rights and interests of workers
Guard against the risks posed by the overdevelopment of the gig economy
Improve China's minimum wage system
Platform employment spreads to traditional industries?
Are workers at risk of deskilling?
Has the minimum wage become the base for basic salary and social security contributions?
……
In recent years, with the vigorous development of the "three new" economy with new industries, new formats and new business models as the core, a large number of platform employment and flexible employment have emerged and shown an accelerated growth trend, which has become an important channel for absorbing employment and has also brought some new problems to the governance of labor relations. How to better build harmonious labor relations in the new development stage? A number of experts and scholars have put forward enlightening views.
01
Balance market forces with government functions
status quo
In recent years, China's digital economy has developed rapidly, its resource allocation efficiency is high, it provides a large number of employment opportunities, and the free flow of labor force, which are the role of market forces in the digital economy. However, there are drawbacks in developing simply under market forces, and the market has "profit-seeking", which is easy to make labor employment more and more irregular, and the rights and interests of workers cannot be guaranteed... So, how to find a balance between mobilizing the initiative of enterprises and standardizing their employment behavior?
College of Labor and Personnel, Chinese Min University
Professor Wu Qingjun, Head of the Department of Labor Relations
Viewpoints:
How governments can better play a role in the development of the digital economy is worth thinking about. On the one hand, it is necessary to mobilize the enthusiasm and initiative of enterprise development under the digital economy through market forces, on the other hand, it is necessary to regulate its employment behavior through the power of the government. It is necessary to coordinate the relationship between various government departments, such as how the departments of human resources and social security, industry and commerce, and taxation play a coordinated role; the relationship between the central government and local governments, how to better implement the central policies at the local level; the relationship between promoting the development of the platform economy and standardizing the employment of labor; the relationship between protecting the basic rights and interests of workers and giving workers the right to act; the power of action and organization of workers; the relationship between the government's labor relations governance function and public service function, and do a good job in public services.
02
The existing evaluation indicators of enterprise labor relations cover the evaluation dimensions of protecting the basic rights and interests of employees, such as labor remuneration, rest and leave, labor safety and health protection, etc., and also cover the improvement of labor relations coordination mechanism and the democratic management of enterprises, but the evaluation of how to build a democratic management structure system, create a good environment for building harmonious labor relations, and the organization and leadership of labor relations management coordination at the enterprise level is not enough.
School of Public Administration, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law
Faculty of Labour and Social Security
Director, Associate Professor Wei Xiong
In the evaluation of enterprise labor relations, it is necessary to develop from single-link evaluation to integrated and systematic evaluation, systematic including information systems, early warning, intervention and harmonious development, etc., and nest these into a systematic evaluation; from only focusing on objective index evaluation to dynamic and personalized evaluation development, we must pay attention to enterprises in different industries, different stages of development and different types of employees, etc.; the evaluation indicators and tools of new formats urgently need to break through, and it is necessary to study the alternative indicators or complementary indicators of some evaluation indicators under non-standard labor relations.
03
Many platforms recruit and use employees through "crowdsourcing" or labor outsourcing, but the platform does not sign labor contracts with employees, does not pay social insurance premiums for them, and does not strictly urge outsourcing enterprises to complete the above behaviors, once employees are injured in the labor process, it is easy to cause labor disputes.
Shanghai Changning District People's Court
Vice President Wang Fei
In terms of labor legislation, we can learn from the "piercing company veil" system in the company law, that is, when the Internet platform fails to cut the labor relationship clearly, it is presumed that it is the actual employer, so that it assumes the responsibility of the employer in the labor law. From the system, we can learn from the practice of the "construction general contracting enterprise responsibility system" when solving the problem of arrears of wages to migrant workers in previous years, that is, as long as the Internet platform actually employs labor, no matter what kind of name it employs, even if it is outsourced at all levels, it should also bear legal responsibility. Because the platform enterprise profits from the benefits created by the labor of the employees, it is in line with the requirements of the consistency of rights and obligations to bear legal responsibilities.
04
The labor relationship between the self-registration and acceptance of orders by workers in the gig economy masks the labor relations of a large number of agent wage workers. At the same time, low-skilled workers continue to enter the field of platform economy, on the one hand, many workers lose the opportunity to upgrade their skills and can no longer return to factory positions after transformation and upgrading; on the other hand, the shortage of high-skilled workers will affect the development of China's manufacturing industry.
China Institute of Labor Relations
Faculty of Labor Relations and Human Resources
Dean, Professor Wen Xiaoyi
Labor law only provides the bottom line of protection, the unequal power structure is the root cause of the labor risk problem of the gig economy, and how to form a collective negotiation mechanism of platform freight rates, working hours, and management rules is the future policy direction. At the same time, it is the future policy direction to get rid of the low-skill, low-cost economic development mode, turn to high-quality development, vigorously support and develop advanced manufacturing, vigorously build and reform the vocational education system, build a solid foundation for the modern economic system, and form a stable and decent formal employment pattern.
05
Currently, the minimum wage is a "low standard" implementation state in some industries. It is often used as the base for the basic salary of the labor contract, the calculation of overtime pay, and the basis for individual social insurance or welfare items, which makes it difficult for front-line employees to increase their wage income if the minimum wage is not adjusted.
South China Normal University
Professor Sun Zhongwei, School of Politics and Public Administration
It is necessary to continue to adjust the minimum wage standard appropriately, start the revision of the "Minimum Wage Regulations", and explore the establishment of a more perfect minimum wage adjustment activation mechanism and calculation formula, so that the minimum wage can dynamically reflect the changes in prices and living standards. Give better play to the role of the "tripartite mechanism", establish a "minimum wage committee" composed of the government, trade unions, enterprise representative organizations, academic institutions and other representatives, and improve the consultation and communication process of minimum wage adjustment. With the expansion of flexible employment, part-time hourly wages need to attract greater attention. It is necessary to promote enterprises to independently establish a sound salary distribution system and reduce dependence on and abuse of the minimum wage.
Editor: Ren Shushan
Source: Workers Daily