Who is the Employer? – The Death of an E-commerce Warehouse Worker RaisesLabor Protection Issues
42-year-old Cai Yong, a warehouse workerfor a major e-commerce platform, was found dead in his rented apartment, the police ruled his death as sudden cardiac death. Cai Yong’s familytold the Beijing News that before his death, Cai Yong had been working long hours, often exceeding 12 hours a day. Cai Yong had signed a Freelancer Agreement with a third-party platform, not a labor contract. After his death, the issue of compensation has become a deadlock.
Cai Yong was found dead in his rented apartment on the morning of September 23rd.His family revealed that Cai Yong had been running his own business for several years before it failed, leading him to take a job at an e-commerce platform in Beijing. He started as a delivery worker, later became a station manager, andbefore his death, he was a warehouse worker. Cai Yong’s phone records showed that he had been working overtime frequently, often working at least 12 hours a day. Cai Yong had worked overnight shifts at the store before his death, but after his death, the only contact we had was witha third-party labor platform called Hangzhou Yunqiandou, said Cai Yong’s family.
The e-commerce platform claimed that Cai Yong was not their employee, but rather an employee of Yunqiandou. Yunqiandou presented a Freelancer Service Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the Service Agreement) signed with Cai Yong, stating that they were not in an employment relationship and could only offer humanitarian compensation.
Lin Hucai, a lawyer from Beijing Weirui Law Firm, stated that the dispute over Cai Yong’s labor rights began almost from the moment he joined the e-commerce platform. In recent years, with the development of the new economy, flexible employment has gradually been accepted by the public. However, some companies use this model to deliberately avoid employment risks, transforming the relationship between the parties from an employment relationship to a cooperative relationship in the contract, thereby evading the protection of labor rights. Inprevious years, their tactic was to register workers as individual businesses; in recent years, this tactic has evolved into the ‘Freelancer Agreement.’
Multiple legal professionals interviewed expressed that when there is a de facto employment relationship between a worker and a company, but no employment contract, absurd situations arise. As long asnothing happens, both parties are fine. But once something happens, the employer will use every trick in the book to escape responsibility.
Some scholars have pointed out that balancing the protection of the rights of workers in new employment forms and the employment costs of employers has become a new challenge for the development of China’s neweconomy. It is recommended that relevant departments can first issue some guiding opinions on specific situations to protect the rights and interests of workers in new employment forms, and formulate separate protection systems for these workers in due time.
This case highlights the growing issue of labor protection in the context of the new economy. Theuse of Freelancer Agreements and other forms of flexible employment allows companies to avoid responsibility for their workers, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and without adequate protection.
This case also raises questions about the role of government regulation in protecting the rights of workers in the new economy. The government needs to take steps toensure that workers in the new economy have the same rights and protections as traditional workers.
The death of Cai Yong is a tragic reminder of the need to address the labor protection issues facing workers in the new economy. It is essential that companies are held accountable for the safety and well-being of their workers,regardless of their employment status.
References:
- Beijing News (2024-10-22). Who is the Employer? – The Death of an E-commerce Warehouse Worker Raises Labor Protection Issues. Retrieved from [Link to article]
Note: This article is based on the informationprovided in the prompt and is intended to be a starting point for further research and discussion. It is important to note that the facts of the case are still under investigation and may change.
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