New calls to protect P/T internet employees

File photo shows a deliveryman. [Photo: Chinanews.com]

The welfare of part-time workers on online platforms is in urgent need of protection, as a lack of formal labor contracts is widespread in the booming industry, reports cnr.cn.

The number of part-time workers on online platforms has reached about 70 million in China, as more people are joining the industry to become delivery drivers, cleaners, designated drivers and others, according to the report.

By 2020, the number of part-time workers for online platforms will surpass 100 million, based on the data provided by the National Information Center.

However, most of the part-time workers have not signed formal contracts with these online platforms, which make them very vulnerable when there is a conflict during work.

How to define the relationship between the online platforms, through which customers order services, and the part-time workers, who actually provide the services, is still a fuzzy region legally, the cnr.cn report added.

The cnr.cn report suggests the legislators should recognize this and enact laws to better protect the workers.