89% of the riders are part-timers. How exactly should their rights be protected?

At 8 a.m., rider Qiu Fengying put on her helmet and rode her electric bike through the streets and alleys of Changsha. She has been delivering food for eight years, settled in Changsha, and voluntarily bought an endowment insurance for herself.

In July this year, Meituan's endowment insurance subsidy policy was implemented in Changsha. Since then, Qiu Fengying has received more than 500 yuan in endowment insurance subsidies in her account every month.

"As long as you buy endowment insurance, the platform will automatically transfer the money to your account. It's 500 yuan a month, which adds up to 6,000 yuan a year. That's a significant amount of money and has relieved a lot of my living pressure," Qiu Fengying said frankly.

Thousands of miles away in Ningbo, rider Tang Weihong goes online to take orders at 10 a.m. every day and finishes work at 4 p.m. on the dot to pick up her two children from school. What attracts her most about this job that earns her over 10,000 yuan a month is that she can take care of her family. She pays for her social insurance out - of - pocket in her hometown of Shaoxing, which costs 1,500 yuan per month. After Meituan's endowment insurance subsidy policy was implemented, she receives a 500 - yuan subsidy every month.

"For someone like me who has been insisting on paying social insurance, it's like getting a 500 - yuan raise every month," Tang Weihong said, very satisfied with Meituan's endowment insurance subsidy policy. After receiving the subsidy, she quickly recommended it to her colleagues.

A few days ago, Meituan announced that its endowment insurance subsidy for riders would be extended to cover the whole country and be open to all riders. Starting from November, any type of rider across the country can receive a cash subsidy from Meituan after paying for endowment insurance. Millions of riders have been included in the security system.

Behind the individual joys of Qiu Fengying, Tang Weihong and others lies a grand proposition of the era.

Meituan data shows that as of September 2024, a total of 7.45 million riders have taken orders on the platform. Among them, 89% are part - time riders. They could be young people who deliver food during the day and set up street stalls at night, moms who take orders during the gaps between picking up and dropping off their children, or those waiting for entrepreneurial opportunities.

This large group has prominent characteristics such as high mobility, ambiguous labor relations, and cross - regional employment. The research data of Ge Tianren's team from Tongji University reveals the real situation of this group: in Shanghai, 78.21% of food delivery riders have worked for less than three years, and 21.99% have worked for less than three months.

This high mobility makes many riders regard food delivery as a transitional job and not form a stable labor relationship with the platform. On the one hand, they need more cash income and are reluctant to bear excessive social insurance expenses. On the other hand, they worry about future endowment and medical issues, finding themselves in a dilemma.

More importantly, 70% of the rider group comes from rural areas, and over 90% of them have participated in the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme in their hometowns. This means that over 60% of riders are already insured in rural areas. If companies force them to pay urban employee social insurance, they will only be over - burdened, and the pooled funds cannot be transferred when they return to their hometowns, making it difficult to truly achieve security.

It can be seen that the situation of riders is complex and realistic, and their needs are full of contradictions. How to protect them has become a difficult problem for the platform.

Why are riders "resistant" to social insurance?

At the Meituan delivery station in Nantong, Jiangsu, rider Zhai Hanhui was looking through the social insurance payment records on his phone, feeling at ease.

Before delivering food, Zhai Hanhui was a welder in a factory and had paid the "five social insurances and one housing fund" for four years. After becoming a rider, he continued to pay for flexible employment insurance in Nantong for a year, which cost more than 10,000 yuan a year. However, due to the urgent need for money to build a house in his hometown, he stopped paying for the flexible employment insurance.

"I've been worried about having no security in my old age in the past two years. I was just struggling with whether to resume paying for social insurance when I didn't expect the platform to offer subsidies, giving me a chance to get back on the social insurance track," Zhai Hanhui said.

Zhai Hanhui's experience shows that the platform's subsidies directly boost riders' willingness to participate in social insurance. When social insurance is no longer an "economic burden" but an "affordable security," more and more riders start to plan for their future actively. However, before the subsidies were implemented, riders' "resistance" to social insurance mainly stemmed from the "incompatibility" between their occupational characteristics and the traditional security system.

From the perspective of labor relationship recognition, China's labor legal framework has long adopted a "dual - classification system." One is enterprise employees in "subordinate labor," who enjoy the "five social insurances and one housing fund"; the other is self - employed individuals in "independent labor," who can only participate in urban and rural residents' social insurance.

However, food delivery riders are in a middle ground. They need to accept the platform's management of order allocation and service standards, but they can also independently decide when to take orders, how many orders to take, and even take orders across different platforms. Obviously, there is no corresponding security path under the "dual - classification system." The platform has to "grope for a way forward" to find a suitable solution.

In this process, the flexible employment characteristics of the rider group have made it extremely difficult to implement social insurance.

A major obstacle is the "connection need" caused by their high mobility. A 36Kr survey found that many riders have the habit of taking orders on multiple platforms. They run for Meituan during the lunch peak when there are more orders and they can earn more in a short time. They switch to Ele.me in the afternoon and may run for Meituan or JD.com at night.

"Not being bound to any platform can ensure the highest hourly wage and the most earnings," a rider pointed out the key point.

This "flexible switching" work mode has given rise to many practical problems. If a rider takes orders on multiple platforms simultaneously, which platform should bear the main social insurance responsibility? If a rider decides to move to another city to deliver food, how should the already - paid social insurance be transferred?

These problems make many riders prefer to "temporarily not pay" rather than face the subsequent "connection troubles."

Another source of resistance is the "flexible need" derived from the transitional nature of the occupation. For many riders, food delivery is more like a "transitional choice." Some are waiting for entrepreneurial opportunities, some are temporarily employed during the gaps in taking care of their families, and some use it to make a living while changing careers.

The experience of She Jihua, the Meituan knight - leader in Wuhan, is quite representative. He studied textile engineering in college and worked in textile foreign trade for many years after graduation. Later, he quit his job and opened a beverage store with his friends. In 2018, due to the mall clearing out the store and his wife's pregnancy, he registered as a Meituan rider as a "transition."

"At first, I just wanted to earn some living expenses and wait for a suitable opportunity to start a business. So I always thought it was unnecessary to pay for social insurance. If I changed careers and the social insurance was interrupted, all the money I paid would be wasted," She Jihua said. Later, after his food - delivery job became stable and the platform offered social insurance subsidies, he resumed paying for social insurance.

There are many riders like She Jihua who originally planned to "quit after a while" or are ready to go back to their hometowns to buy properties at any time.

For this group, mandatory social insurance not only increases their economic burden but also fundamentally conflicts with their short - term career plans. Riders like She Jihua need a low - threshold, connectable, and flexible security plan that can meet their basic security needs at present without affecting their future career transitions.

After all, in the face of the flexible needs of flexible employment, there must be equally flexible countermeasures.

Riders want more than just a social insurance certificate

At half - past ten at night, the rain in Chaoyang District, Beijing, was pounding on the ground. At an unlit intersection, rider Wang Lei suddenly braked to avoid a pedestrian who suddenly rushed out. The slippery road caused his electric bike to skid sideways. He fell to the ground, and the soup in the food box spilled all over the place.

Without caring about his own injuries, Wang Lei first found his phone to check how much time was left before the order was overdue. "At that moment, what flashed through my mind was not how badly I was hurt but how much time was left for this order and how many orders I would run in vain today," Wang Lei said with a bitter smile.

For Wang Lei and millions of other riders, the "overdue fine" used to be the Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. The users' requirements for delivery time, unforeseen traffic conditions, and bad weather - every variable could wipe out the income from a single order.

What riders need is an assessment mechanism that can understand this uncertainty, rather than simple and crude fines.

What is even more worrying than an overdue order is an accident with no one to cover the costs.

Rider Ye Qiang once broke his nasal bone when he failed to avoid two pedestrians who illegally crossed the lane guardrail. Although the two pedestrians paid 70% of his medical expenses, the remaining 30% had no one to cover, which was a significant expense for Ye Qiang.

A 36Kr survey found that due to the special work environment, most riders have experienced minor accidents while delivering food. They are also worried that if they are involved in a traffic accident and get injured, will anyone take care of them? What if they are seriously injured and can no longer deliver food?

Obviously, for riders, a professional injury insurance that can cover high - frequency risks at work, such as traffic accidents and falls, is far more urgent than social insurance. Because it is related to their current livelihood and whether they can continue to earn money to support their families tomorrow.

In addition to these urgent security needs, riders also have many unnoticeable needs in their daily lives, which form the foundation of their professional well - being.

At half - past one in the afternoon, after the peak delivery period, Sister Zhang finally had time to find a place to eat. She sat on her electric bike, took out the eggs and cold steamed buns she cooked before leaving home in the morning from the food box, and ate them with the pickled mustard she brought with her. Although there was a fast - food restaurant not far away, she brought her own meals almost every day.

"I only earn five or six yuan for each order, but a decent lunch near the office buildings costs twenty or thirty yuan. I can't afford it," Sister Zhang calculated clearly. "It would be great if there were some fixed places where we could have a hot meal for ten or eight yuan."

"Eating in the wind and sleeping in the open" is not just a figure of speech for riders; it is their daily life. Riders need affordable work meals within easy reach and a moment of rest to have a peaceful meal.

Similarly, riders also need rest points where they can get hot water, charge their phones, and take shelter from the rain during downpours. These needs, which seem highly relevant to the delivery scene, may not be as urgent but are still very important.

These needs together reflect the core demands of riders: basic security should be "stable," effectively covering rigid needs such as endowment and work - related injuries; welfare design should be "flexible," adapting to the multi - platform and cross - regional work rhythm; the coverage should be "wide," so that whether they are full - time or part - time riders, or those who shuttle between different platforms and cities, they can find suitable security and welfare.

Only when the security can solve the "future worries" and meet the "current needs" can it truly integrate into riders' lives and become their "peace of mind" on the delivery route.

Riders need more than just a social insurance policy

If you have 100 resources, should you concentrate them on 10 people or distribute them among 90 people? This is the dilemma that major platforms face when exploring how to build a security system for millions of riders.

The first approach is to create an "elite - style" full - coverage security plan that covers a small number of core full - time riders, providing comprehensive welfare from social insurance to commercial insurance and bearing all the costs. Under this plan, eligible riders can enjoy a stable security comparable to that of white - collar workers, which is enviable. However, the drawback is that the coverage is extremely narrow, and it is a "privilege" for only a very small number of people.

The other approach is the "inclusive" progressive security path explored by Meituan. It does not set a full - time threshold and does not adopt a "one - size - fits - all" approach. Through the model of "voluntary participation + platform subsidy," it distributes 100 resources to as many as 90 people. Although each person gets a small share, the threshold is extremely low, and every rider has a chance to "get on board."

Meituan's approach is in line with the evolution direction of policies for protecting the rights and interests of the new - form employment labor group. To adapt to the diversification of employment methods, institutional innovation is also needed. In 2021, the "tri - classification" policy was introduced. On the basis of the "all - or - nothing" labor relationship, the recognition of "incomplete labor relationship" was added, creating institutional space for improving the professional security of riders. Riders who participate in insurance through Meituan enjoy both flexibility and wide coverage.

Take rider Qi Yejun as an example. He used to work in a factory in Shangqiu, Henan. After leaving the factory, he came to Nantong, Jiangsu, to deliver food. After arriving in Nantong, Qi Yejun did not stop paying for social insurance but continued to pay for flexible employment insurance in his hometown of Shangqiu, Henan, with a fixed monthly expenditure of 1,200 yuan.

If the first security plan were adopted, Qi Yejun's inconsistent work and insurance locations would obviously make him ineligible. Therefore, he would have to continue paying for social insurance on his own and could not enjoy the welfare security provided by the platform.

However, under the "inclusive" security plan, even though Qi Yejun is a cross - regional rider who "delivers food in Nantong and participates in insurance in Henan," he can still enjoy the same subsidies. Based on his monthly payment of 1,200 yuan, he can receive a 500 - yuan subsidy from the platform, directly reducing his payment burden by 40%. Although the subsidy amount is not very high, it is enough to enable every rider to easily participate in insurance.

From the perspective of the interests of the entire rider group, what they need is not a "perfect plan" that looks good but only covers a small number of people, but an inclusive system with a low enough threshold to cover the largest number of people - especially part - time riders, who account for more than 90% of the industry. They are the main force in food delivery, but they have