The manifestation of the lack of occupational health rights of food delivery riders and countermeasures: A case study of 405 riders in C City, J Province, China

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2997415/v1

Background: In the digital economy, the endogenous contradiction between “bundled labor relations” and “enhanced occupational risks” has led to higher work risks for food delivery riders and compromised their occupational health rights. In the context of the gradual improvement of civil society rights and the implementation of The Healthy China Strategy, how to protect the occupational health of delivery riders is an urgent problem in China at this stage.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was used to analyze labor safety protection, basic occupational health insurance, supplementary occupational health insurance, and risk-avoidance approaches of serious accidents within 405 delivery riders in C City, J Province, China, and to draw conclusions from this study.

Results: The occupational health protection system of food delivery riders is not yet sound, and their occupational health rights and interests are compromised. In terms of labor safety protection, the means based on clothing, equipment, and safety tips are superficial; in terms of basic occupational health insurance, the means based on work injury insurance and medical insurance are incomplete; in terms of supplemental protection, the method led by commercial accident insurance is lagging; in terms of risk-avoidance approaches of serious accidents, the function of mutual assistance from family is weakened.

Conclusion: Based on the principle of “from the surface to the core, from the part to the whole, from emergency to perfection and from self-assistance to mutual assistance”, a comprehensive occupational injury protection system based on social insurance, supplemented by commercial insurance and underwritten by family protection should be established for delivery riders.

health

occupational health rights

food delivery riders

lack of rights

optimization path

The fourth industrial revolution has promoted the vigorous development of the digital economy based on big data and cloud computing, which has given rise to a large number of flexible employment groups different from the traditional standardized employment model, mainly in the occupations of online taxi drivers, delivery riders, and online anchors. Data show that in 2021, the digital economy of 47 major economies in the world will be about $38.1 trillion, accounting for 45% of global GDP[1], and the vitality of digital economy development continues to be released. It is worth noting that the new forms of employment spawned by the digital economy are not protected by traditional labor laws, and coupled with the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, a large number of workers are exposed to higher occupational risks, leading to the urgent need to build a social security system that adapts to the rapid changes in the workforce. According to the World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2023, published by the International Labor Organization (ILO), about 2 billion people will be in informal employment globally in 2022, but only 47% will be effectively covered by at least one social security benefit, meaning that more than 4 billion people will still lack any social security[2]. In the same year, a survey by the International Labor Organization(ILO) showed that more than 2.8 million people die on the job, 374 million are injured on the job, and 160 million become ill on the job each year worldwide, while only 35.4% of workers worldwide are protected by workplace injury insurance[3]. As a result, many workers are unable to obtain labor protection in the event of work-related accidents or occupational injuries, and thus fall into economic hardship. Among these new employment groups, delivery riders often face higher occupational risks due to the immediacy of food delivery work, the uncertainty of traffic conditions, and the variability of weather conditions. However, the international system of occupational injury protection for delivery riders is not yet well-designed, which poses a serious challenge to their occupational health.

In 1946, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined health as "Health is not only the absence of disease, but also a complete mental and physical state and social adaptation."^[1]In 1948, the United Nations issued The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. security."[4] In 1966, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights stipulated that each contracting state should recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and emphasized that the realization of the right to health should take the following steps[5]: 1) the provision for the reduction of the stillbirth rate and of infant mortality and for the healthy development of the child; 2) the improvement of all aspects of environmental and industrial hygiene; 3) the prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases; 4) the creation of conditions which would assure to all medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness. This incorporates the prevention, control, and treatment of occupational diseases into the right to health, elevating it to the level of a fundamental right enjoyed by all. Since then, occupational health, together with the right to health, has received widespread attention from international organizations. In 1981, the International Labor Organization (ILO) issued Occupational Health and Safety(No.155), which defines occupational health as not only the absence of disease or infirmity, but also the physical and mental factors affecting health that are directly related to safety and health at work[6]. Nowadays, the ILO has more than 35 policy documents related to workers' safety and occupational health, including Occupational Health Service (No. 161), Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention 2006 (No. 187) and Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization (2008), which provides the policy pavement for safeguarding workers' safety and occupational health at work. The same goes for China. In October 2017, Xi Jinping pointed out in the report of the 19^th National Congress that it is necessary to implement The Healthy China Strategy and provide the people with a full range of health services. In 2019, the State Council issued The Opinions on the Implementation of Health China Action, which actively launched policy decisions and deployments in the areas of intervention of health influencing factors, maintenance of life-cycle health, and prevention and control of major diseases, to provide policy guidelines for improving the health of the whole population and building a healthy China[7]. In the field of occupational health, the action point out the implementation of occupational health protection actions, advocate healthy work styles for different groups of people, implement the main responsibility of employers and government supervision, prevent and control occupational hazards, while encouraging employers to carry out employee health management and strengthen the protection of occupational disease treatment. Therefore, in the context of the increasing improvement of citizens' health rights and the implementation of the ‘The Health China Strategy’, the challenge of how to deal with the challenges brought by the digital economy to China's social security system and strengthen the protection of the occupational health rights of food delivery riders is a realistic problem that needs to be solved in China at this stage.

As a fundamental right of citizens, the right to health also has social rights attributes, the core of which is the right to a system of health protection (access) to provide equal opportunities for people to achieve the highest attainable standard of health^[2]. From the 1950s to the 1960s, the British sociologist T.H.Marshall introduced the theory of citizenship, which he linked to social welfare, thus making the modern theory of citizenship a focus of sociological attention^[3]. According to Marshall, citizenship implies three kinds of rights, namely civil, political, and social rights. Among them, civil rights include freedom of person, expression, thought and belief, and also include the right to own property and enter into contracts, and the right to justice^[4]; political rights refer to the right to exercise political power^[5]; social rights refer to the right to move from some degree of economic well-being and security to full enjoyment of social heritage and the right to enjoy civilized life according to prevailing social standards^[6], which provides the theoretical foundation for the social rights attribute of the right to health. Of these three rights, civil rights emerged first, followed by political rights, and finally social rights. It is noteworthy that the modern welfare state system is an institutional construction centered on citizens' social rights, which is considered to have the same legal and political status as property rights, and the establishment of the welfare state is also an important symbol of the recognition of citizens' social rights^[7]. In China, social rights have undergone a process of development from individual to general, from fragmented to systematic, and have continued to deepen with the development of human rights and social security^[8]. Since the founding of China, China has continued to develop its social security system, gradually establishing ‘a social security system based on social insurance, social assistance, and social welfare, focusing on basic pension insurance, basic medical insurance, and minimum living security, and supplemented by charity and commercial insurance’, and has been active in areas such as compulsory education, housing security, and basic public services, which are promoting the continuous progress of social rights protection for Chinese citizens. What should not be overlooked is that the fourth wave of the industrial revolution has renewed the way people produce and live, but it has also impacted the occupational health rights of the food delivery riders. The higher occupational risks and the lack of social protection expose them to higher work risks, so how to protect the occupational health rights of delivery riders has become a real challenge for countries to solve.

In this context, this paper focuses on the occupational health rights of delivery riders, uses a questionnaire survey method to analyze the overall situation and characteristics of occupational health of delivery riders in four dimensions, namely labor safety protection, basic occupational health protection, supplementary occupational health protection, and major accident protection, based on T. H. Marshall's theory of citizenship, with a sample of 405 delivery riders in C City, J Province, China, and aims to help us better understand the relationship between employment and occupational health protection of delivery riders in the context of the digital economy, thus helping establish policy interventions for occupational health protection of delivery riders.

[1]China Academy of Information and Communication Research. Global Digital Economy White Paper. http://dsj.guizhou.gov.cn. Accessed 12 April 2023.

[2]International Labour Organization. World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2023.

https://www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/weso/WCMS_865332/lang--en/index.html. Accessed 12 April 2023.

[3]International Labour Organization (Beijing). International practice of workers' compensation insurance for occupational personnel on digital platforms.

https://www.ilo.org/beijing/information-resources/WCMS_837246/lang--zh/index.htm. Accessed 12 April 2023.

[4]Source: Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

[5]Source: Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

[6]International Labour Organization. Occupational Health.

https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/safety-and-health-at-work/occupational-health/lang--en/index.htm. Accessed 13 April 2023.

[7]China government network. Opinions of the State Council on the Implementation of Health China Action.

http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2019-07/15/content_5409492.htm. Accessed 13 April 2023.

2.1 Study setting

This paper is based on a questionnaire survey method to design questionnaires from four dimensions of the occupational health of food delivery riders and conduct a survey in the form of questionnaires to understand the overall situation and characteristics of their occupational health(Figure 1).In October 2021, the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of J Province, together with the Department of Social Security of Jilin University, conducted a study on ‘Supporting the Development of New Employment Forms’. After considering various aspects, the research team chose C City of J Province in China as the main research area.The reasons are as follows: 1) J Province has followed the national pace and introduced supportive policies one after another to promote the healthy development of new employment patterns. In response to the guidance on Promoting the Standardized and Healthy Development of the Platform Economy (No. 38[2019]) and Serving the "Six Stabilities" and "Six Guarantees" to further improve the development of the "New Employment Forms" (No.10[2021]) issued by the State Council, J government issued the Outline of the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of J Province and Visionary Goals for 2035(No.7[2021]), stating that it is necessary to ‘promote digital industrialization and industrial digitization, actively expand employment, and strengthen policy support for flexible employment and new employment forms’[8]. In December of the same year, the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of J Province promulgated the Implementation Measures for Safeguarding the Labor Security Rights and Interests of Workers in New Employment Forms in J Province (for Trial Implementation)(No.203[2021]), which provides policy protection for platform workers in the areas of employment training, labor employment, labor compensation, social insurance, safety, and health[9], etc. 2)C City, as the capital of J province, is typical in supporting new employment patterns and safeguarding labor rights and interests of workers. In 2021, the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of C City set up a Leading Group which is called Safeguard Labor Rights and Interests of Workers in New Employment Patterns to coordinate and promote the work of this group. In addition, the Leading Group has also formulated the Implementation Plan for Safeguarding the Labour Security Rights of Workers in New Employment Patterns, and actively deployed policies to protect newly employed workers in the city by regulating employment management, strengthening occupational injury protection, and safeguarding wage payment in accordance with the law. 3) Due to the impact of COVID-19, the subject group was unable to conduct large-scale research nationwide, and thus changed the idea of national sampling to a small-scale local survey, with subsequent comparisons to be conducted when conditions permit. In addition, the subject group cooperated with the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of J province, which has convenience in data acquisition and field survey. Finally, the group conducted a questionnaire survey of 405 food delivery riders within C city of J province between November 2021 and November 2022, which provided data support for this study.

The subject team recruited participants in conjunction with the staff of the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of J Province.With full consideration of the specific criteria related to the study objectives, the subject group recruited participants through purposive sampling with the following criteria: 1) participants were Meituan or Eleme food delivery riders in C city; 2) participants had the ability to read, write and speak; 3) participants had no previous cognitive impairment or mental disorder; 4) they voluntarily participated in this study. With the help of the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of J province, the research team contacted 405 food delivery riders within C City and conducted a questionnaire survey during the year. Statistically, the survey results better reflected the real needs of delivery riders in terms of labor safety protection, work injury insurance, commercial accident insurance, and major accident protection, which provided effective data support for this study. The demographic characteristics of the food delivery riders are shown in Table 1.

The total number of food delivery riders in this research is 405, with the characteristics of youthfulness, high proportion of males, lower education and high physical quality. In terms of gender distribution, males accounted for 97.53% and females only 2.47%. Age distribution shows that food delivery riders aged 24-30 and 31-40 are dominant, accounting for 22.96% and 42.47% respectively, followed by 41-50 and 51-59, accounting for 21.48% and 6.91%, and 5.68% aged 16-23, while only 0.49% are aged 60 and above. In terms of education, more than half of the delivery riders have junior and senior high school education, 18.02% and 11.85% have secondary school education and university and above, and less than one-tenth of the delivery riders have elementary school education and below. In terms of health status, the majority of workers are relatively healthy, accounting for 96.27%, and only 3.73% of unhealthy workers. At the household registration level, 37.78% of food delivery riders are in urban and 62.22% are in rural areas, with the number of riders in urban areas being much lower than those in rural areas. At the labor contract level, more than half of the food delivery riders signed labor contracts with employment units, and 6.91% and 15.31% of the food delivery riders signed labor contracts and labor dispatch contracts with labor dispatch units, respectively, while more than one-fifth of the riders still did not sign labor contracts with any units. At the average monthly income level, food delivery riders' monthly income is concentrated between 4001-6000 and 6001-8000, accounting for 44.44% and 25.68 respectively, with the next highest income of 2001-4000, accounting for 14.57%, and only 1.73% of food delivery riders with monthly income of 10000 and above.

Table 1 Demographic characteristics of participants (n=405)

Theme	Sub-theme	Quantity	Percentage (%)
Gender	Male	395	97.53%
Gender	Female	10	2.47%
Age	16-23 years old	23	5.68%
	24-30 years old	93	22.96%
	31-40 years old	172	42.47%
	41-50 years old	87	21.48%
	51-59 years old	28	6.91%
	60 years old and above	2	0.49%
Education level	Elementary school and below	37	9.14%
	Middle and High School	247	60.99%
	Secondary School	73	18.02%
	University and above	48	11.85%
Health Status	Health	390	96.27%
Health Status	Unhealthy	15	3.73%
Household Registration	Urban	153	37.78%
Household Registration	Rural	252	62.22%
Employment Contract	Not signed	92	22.72%
	Signing with the employer	223	55.06%
	Signing with a labor dispatcher	28	6.91%
	Labor outsourcing contract	62	15.31%
Average monthly income	2000 yuan and below	21	5.16%
	2001-4000	59	14.57%
	4001-6000	180	44.44%
	6001-8000	104	25.68%
	8001-9999	34	8.40%
	10000RMB and above	7	1.73%

Data source: compiled by the subject group

2.3 Data collection

Before the research, all members of the subject group received pre-service education and training to familiarize themselves with the specific methods of the questionnaire. To ensure that the questionnaire design and the research findings are true and valid, the subject group did the following work in the questionnaire design stage: 1) at the early stage of the questionnaire design, the subject group members read a lot of literature in the field of occupational injury protection for food delivery riders to get a preliminary understanding of the occupational injury situation and demands of this group; 2) in terms of the questionnaire type, based on the purpose of this study, the subject group chose a non-scale questionnaire for the question design, and face-to-face questioning and telephone questioning were used to survey the participants in order to reduce the occurrence of phenomena that affect the quality of the questionnaire such as misfilling, indiscriminate filling and omission; 3) in the questionnaire design stage, the group focused on the purpose of this study and combined with T. H. Marshall's theory of citizenship to design questions in the areas of labor safety protection, basic occupational health protection, supplementary occupational health protection, and major accident protection to ensure the consistency of question design and research ideas; 4)after the completion of the first draft of the questionnaire, the group selected 50 food delivery riders for a pretest to verify the content, form and presentation of the questions; 5) to further ensure the quality of the questionnaire, the group also submitted the first draft of the questionnaire to well-known experts and scholars in this field from domestic universities. After obtaining their overall evaluation and suggestions, the group revised and improved the question set; 6) after completing the above, the group printed the questionnaire and used different fonts to distinguish the questions and answers in order to improve the overall experience of the participants. The contents of the questionnaire are shown in Table 2.

The research was conducted from November 2021 to November 2022. Before the research, the team members sent invitations to the participants by phone or SMS, and the participants chose a suitable time and place by themselves. For participants who had difficulties going out, team members chose the online questionnaire for them to fill in. In order to ensure a comfortable interview environment, no other person was present during the entire process except for the participants and two team members. One member of the team acted as the main interviewer and conducted a one-on-one questionnaire with the participant in a question-and-answer format, allowing the participant to tell his or her true feelings, while another member recorded the entire process with the participant's permission. In order to reduce the introduction of subjective emotions, the members of the research team only asked and recorded during the research process, and did not interfere with the participants' answers in any way. The duration of each questionnaire survey was between 20-30 minutes.

Table 2 The content of the Questionnaire

Theme	Question	Option
Labor safety protection	Q1:Whether there are labor safety and health facilities and labor protective equipment in the labor work?	a) Yes b) No c) The work performed is not dangerous
	Q2:Have you received labor protection under special circumstances such as adverse weather conditions?	a) Yes b) No c) Don’t need
	Q3:What specific forms of labor safety protection do you have?	a) Helmets, clothes and other equipment b) Fluorescent signs, safety tips and other information c) Mask, alcohol and other prevention materials d) Safety knowledge training
Basic occupational health insurance	Q1:What types of basic medical insurance do you participate in?	a) Basic Medical Insurance for Urban Employees b) Basic Medical Insurance for Urban and Rural residents c) Uninsured
	Q2:Have you participated in work injury insurance?	a) Yes b) No
	Q3:Why don't you participate in basic medical insurance or work injury insurance?	a) Low personal income and inability to afford it b) Complex filing procedures c) Full family savings and no need for insurance d) Difficulties in transferring from one place to another e) The absence of the employer's obligation to pay contributions
Supplementary occupational health insurance	Q1:Have you participated in supplementary occupational health insurance?	a)Yes b) No
	Q2:What are the channels through which you participate in supplementary occupational health insurance?	a) Purchase in the platform company b) Buy from insurance companies
	Q3:What is the reason why you didn’t participate in supplementary occupational health insurance?	a) Commercial insurance is more expensive than you can afford b) Commercial insurance claims process is complicated and can't afford to care c) Don't trust commercial insurance companies d) The family has sufficient savings and does not need to participate in insurance
Risk-avoidance approaches to serious accidents	Q1:What is the risk-avoidance approach you choose when facing serious accidents？	a) Social Insurance (Medical/Industrial Injury) b) Commercial insurance c) Mutual assistance from family, relatives, and friends d) Self-savings e) Union help
Risk-avoidance approaches to serious accidents	Q2:What is the reason for choosing this risk-avoidance approach?	a) High level of benefits and coverage b) Simple operation process c) Subjective confidence is sufficient d) No other choice being compelled by the premise

Source: compiled by the subject group

2.4 Data Analysis

After each research, the subject group members would organize, record and number the collected questionnaires to facilitate the next round of data analysis work. To ensure that the collected questionnaires can reflect the true situation of the occupational health of the food delivery riders, the group processed the questionnaires as follows: 1) the original questionnaires were initially reviewed and verified in order to correct the misfilled, misfiled, omitted and scrapped questionnaires with missing answers; 2) after the questionnaires were collected and initially reviewed, the group members randomly selected another 40 food delivery riders for review, in order to further improve the authenticity; 3) after reviewing the questionnaires, the group members code the questions and answers of them, and use Excel to enter and file all the questionnaire data; 4) when completing the above steps, the team members use the "Filtering" function in Excel to clean the data and logical consistency of the questionnaires, and finally 405 valid questionnaires are screened out; 5) at last, the team members use the statistical table to describe and summarize the questionnaire data.

2.5 Research Ethics

During the research process, the subject members strictly adhere to the principles of informed consent, confidentiality, freedom to withdraw, and freedom from harm. Before the start of the research, the subject group members gave a detailed introduction to all participants about the basic information of the subject group and the purpose and the use of this research, and all participants signed an informed consent form. At the same time, subject members assured participants that all personal information and conversations in this study would be kept confidential and anonymous. Participants could withdraw at any time during the interview process without any consequences. All sensitive materials were also technically processed during the data transcription and collation process.

[8]J Provincial People's Government Website. Notice on the Issuance of the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of J Province and the Outline of Vision 2035.

http://xxgk.jl.gov.cn/szf/gkml/202103/t20210330_7983210.html. Accessed 13 April 2023.

[9]J Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security. Notice on the issuance of "Implementation Measures for Safeguarding the Labor Security Rights and Interests of Newly Employed Workers in J Province (for Trial Implementation)". http://hrss.jl.gov.cn/ldgx/ldyggl/202112/t20211229_8365008.html. Accessed 14 April 2023.

3.1 Superficial protection: A superficial approach to labor protection with clothing, equipment and safety tips

The question of occupational safety answers the question of what kind of protection the delivery riders receive in the course of their work to ensure their safety and health. For this purpose, the panelists used three types of indicators: “Whether there are labor safety, health facilities, and labor protective equipment in the labor work?”, “Have you received labor protection under special circumstances such as adverse weather conditions?”, and “What specific forms of labor safety protection do you have?” (The third category is based on the first and second categories of indicators) to examine the safety and health of delivery riders in the course of their work. It should be noted that the above three categories of indicators refer to the protection provided by the employers for the food delivery riders, excluding the case where the riders purchase their own protective equipment. Due to the immediacy and special nature of food delivery work, delivery riders face high risks in the work process and belong to a group of people prone to occupational injuries. Therefore, it is urgent and necessary to ensure the safety and health of food delivery riders during food transportation. Here, labor safety refers not only to innovations at the level of delivery equipment for delivery riders, but also to the protection of delivery rules, potential risks and safety awareness. The 2022 Meituan Rider Rights and Social Responsibility Report released by Meituan Research Institute shows that in order to guard and protect the personal safety of delivery riders, Meituan has made comprehensive efforts to improve the work safety coefficient of delivery riders from multiple perspectives, such as technology equipment, delivery rules, fire risks, safety awareness, and police and corporate governance according to the daily workflow and habits of riders[10], with the following specific measures: 1) innovate technology equipment, customize intelligent helmet and develop helmet detection function, and effectively improve the helmet rate of riders; 2) optimize the delivery rules, promote the six algorithm rules to the riders, so that they can deliver goods in a comfortable way; 3) prevent air fire risks, regulate the use of rider battery and charging equipment, and issue coupons for riders to change electricity; 4) improve safety awareness, traffic safety main training, and popularize traffic safety knowledge to new riders; 5) explore joint management by police and enterprises, and take the initiative to carry out joint road violation persuasion activities with public security authorities. In addition, with the spread of COVID-19, food delivery riders need to safeguard their own safety to avoid being infected by the virus. Therefore, employers need to provide riders with timely vaccinations, masks and protective clothing and other epidemic prevention materials, while supervising riders to do a good job of cleaning and disinfecting food delivery tools. However, this is not the case in reality. Research data (Table 3) shows that just under 80% of food delivery riders, or 79.26%, receive labor protection during their work. In special circumstances such as bad weather, the percentage of this segment drops again to 70.37%. Among the specific forms of labor protection, superficialized forms of protection represented by clothing and equipment and safety tips dominate, accounting for 48.60% and 24.61%, respectively, while the proportion of prevention items and safety knowledge training also accounts for less than one-sixth of the total sample. In addition, about 10% of the food delivery riders still think they do not need labor protection during labor or in bad weather, which indicates their weak awareness of self-protection and to some extent increases their risk of experiencing occupational injuries. The above data suggest that there is inequality in social rights of food delivery riders at the level of labor safety. On the one hand, the immediate food delivery work exposes food delivery riders to higher visual occupational risks, while the protective equipment provided by employers does not cover all food delivery riders, and this difference in welfare between the same occupations suggests that employers take an inclusive and prudent approach to the physical and mental health of food delivery riders. On the other hand, the incidence of bad weather and the spread of COVID-19 have exacerbated the instability of food delivery riders' income and work, making them a vulnerable group that is more susceptible to viral infections. The digital platform has not taken effective measures to protect the safety of riders, only a small number of platforms issued epidemic supplies such as masks and alcoholic disinfectant for riders. Most platforms still provide protective supplies such as helmets, clothing, safety tips, and other superficial protective facilities. This superficial labor protection also does not match the high-risk and high mobility occupational characteristics of food delivery riders.

Table 3 General overview of labor safety protection for food delivery riders

Question	Option	Quantity	Percentage(%)
Q1:Whether there are labor safety and health facilities and labor protective equipment in the labor work?	Yes No The work performed is not dangerous	321 48 36	79.26% 11.85% 8.89% 70.37% 24.94% 4.69%
Q2:Have you received labor protection under special circumstances such as adverse weather conditions?	Yes No Don’t need	285 101 19	79.26% 11.85% 8.89% 70.37% 24.94% 4.69%
Q3:What specific forms of labor safety protection do you have?	Helmets, clothes and other equipment Fluorescent signs, safety tips and other information Mask, alcohol and other prevention materials Safety knowledge training	156 79 30 56	48.60% 24.61% 9.35% 17.44%

Data source: compiled by the subject group

3.2 Disembedded protection: Incomplete coverage based on medical insurance and work injury insurance

Considering that occupational injury involves complex protection processes such as work injury, work injury recognition, occupational rehabilitation, and medical care, in order to ensure the comprehensiveness of the research subjects, the subject group used “What types of basic medical insurance do you participate in?”, “Have you participated in work injury insurance?” , and “Why don't you participate in basic medical insurance or work injury insurance?” (The third category is based on the first and second categories of indicators) as specific references for measuring the basic occupational injury coverage for food delivery riders. Therefore, the basic occupational health protection mentioned in this paper refers to whether the delivery riders participate in the work injury insurance and medical insurance enforced by the national law, and enjoy the basic protection measures that go along with it. As the basic item of the social insurance, the medical insurance and the work injury insurance can compensate workers for economic losses caused by illness or major risks, while eliminating social instability caused by them, and play an important role in promoting social equity and maintaining social stability. In July 2021, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Transport, and other eight ministries jointly issued The Guidance on Safeguarding the Labor Security Rights and Interests of Newly Employed Workers (No. 56 [2021]), which made a number of institutional arrangements, including “Localities should liberalize the household registration restrictions for flexibly employed workers to participate in basic pension and basic medical insurance in their place of employment, and improve policies related to basic pension insurance and medical insurance”[11]. It provides policy guidelines for food delivery riders to join basic medical insurance. However, this is not the case in reality. The China Youth Development Report (No.6): The Development of New Occupations Based on the Internet Platform reveals that the “post-80s” and “post-90s” are the mainstream of new occupations, but due to the bundling of labor relations and social insurance, the majority of new occupations are unable to participate in the urban employees’ insurance policies^[9]. The research data of the group (Table 4) shows that the participation characteristics of food delivery riders are fragmented and disconnected. At the level of basic medical insurance, 68.64% of the total sample of delivery riders participated in it, of which 18.27% were Basic Medical Insurance for Urban Employees and 50.37% were Basic Medical Insurance for Urban and Rural residents, and more than one-third of the riders still did not participate in basic medical insurance. At for the level of work injury insurance, less than 40% of the delivery riders participated in work injury insurance, while the proportion of uninsured riders accounted for 65.19% of the total sample. Further investigation revealed that low personal income and inability to pay insurance premiums were the main reasons why delivery riders did not participate in basic medical insurance or industrial injury insurance, accounting for 54.48%, followed by complicated filing procedures, difficulties in transferring and transferring from one place to another, and failure of the employer to fulfill its obligation to pay premiums, while only 1.79% of the total sample relied on family savings for protection. The above data show that the basic occupational injury coverage for delivery riders is incomplete. First, because China's social insurance system still adopts an institutional model tied to labor relations, the flexible, diversified, and short-term platform work cannot match the traditional labor relations-based social insurance supply model with unit participation, and it is difficult for delivery riders to get comprehensive coverage of basic medical insurance and work injury insurance, which makes them vulnerable to financial hardship in case of occupational injuries. Second, because they do not have a formal labor contract with the employer[12]and do not have a stable labor relationship with the company, most of the delivery riders can only participate in the insurance as individuals with flexible employment status or simply do not participate in the insurance, thus increasing their contributions. This institutional constraint and hidden pressure to pay contributions also exclude delivery riders from basic occupational injury protection, and to a certain extent expose them to higher risks. Third, at this stage, social insurance for flexibly employed workers in China is mostly based on their household registration, which is not compatible with the high mobility of workers, coupled with the high cost of individual contributions, complicated reporting procedures, and difficulties in transferring to other places, etc. There are more restrictions for delivery riders to participate in basic occupational injury protection, which greatly reduces their willingness to participate in insurance and violates the social security value of fairness and justice.

Table 4 General overview of basic occupational health insurance for food delivery riders

Question	Option	Quantity	Percentage(%)
Q1:What types of basic medical insurance do you participate in?	Basic Medical Insurance for Urban Employees Basic Medical Insurance for Urban and Rural residents Uninsured	74 204 127	18.27% 50.37% 31.36%
Q2:Have you participated in work injury insurance?	Yes No	141 264	34.81% 65.19%
Q3:Why don't you participate in basic medical insurance or work injury insurance?	a) Low personal income and inability to afford it b) Complex filing procedures c) Full family savings and no need for insurance d) Difficulties in transferring from one place to another e) The absence of the employer's obligation to pay contributions	213 62 7 54 41	54.48% 15.86% 1.79% 13.81% 10.46%

Data source: compiled by the subject group

3.3 Contingency remedy: Supplementary protection led by commercial accident insurance is slightly lagging

Since the design of China's work injury insurance system adopts an institutional model tied to labor relations, “labor relations—social insurance relations—work injury insurance” is the basic logic of China’s work injury insurance system design^[10], which is not compatible with the complex employment mode of platform enterprises, the strong autonomy of employees, and the weak subordination of personality to platform enterprises. In this context, food delivery riders are excluded from the work injury insurance system and turn to purchase commercial accident insurance or simply do not participate in it. Therefore, this paper considers commercial accident insurance as the main way of supplementary occupational health protection for delivery riders, which, together with the basic occupational health protection mentioned in the previous section, form a safety net to maintain the physical health of delivery riders. Considering this situation, the group uses three types of indicators to measure the specifics of supplemental occupational injury coverage for delivery riders. The three indicators are “Have you participated in supplementary occupational health insurance?”, “What are the channels through which you participate in supplementary occupational health insurance?”, and “What is the reason why you didn’t participate in supplementary occupational health insurance?”. The third one is based on the first and the second. In May 2021, Premier Li Keqiang, at an executive meeting of the State Council, stressed the need to further carry out pilot projects on occupational injury protection for flexibly employed workers on platforms, indicating the need for the construction of a commercial accident insurance system for them. It is reported that Meituan and Eleme have made it mandatory for food delivery riders to buy commercial accident insurance. Take Meituan Rider Accident Insurance as an example, its premium is 3 yuan per day. The rider will automatically deduct 3 yuan from his compensation as long as he takes the order, and the coverage is from the time he takes the order to 23:59 on the same day. It includes death and disability compensation (excluding sudden death), medical expenses (including only the necessary and reasonable medical expenses in the hospital and accidental medical compensation), and triple liability compensation (including third-party personal injury indemnity, third-party accidental injury indemnity and third-party property damage indemnity)[13]. The research data of the group（Table 5) shows that nearly 70% of the food delivery riders have supplementary occupational injury coverage, accounting for 67.65%. At the level of the channels involved in commercial accident insurance, 84.31% of riders purchased it at their platform companies, and only 15.69% of the total sample of riders chose to purchase accident insurance from other insurance companies. It is worth noting that more than 30% of food delivery riders still do not participate in any form of supplementary occupational injury coverage. In the analysis of specific reasons, the high cost of commercial insurance is the main reason preventing riders from participating, accounting for 54.96%, followed by the complexity of the commercial insurance claims process and distrust of commercial insurance companies, with less than 5% of riders relying solely on family savings to provide coverage. The data shows that commercial accident insurance occupies an absolutely dominant position in the supplementary occupational injury protection for delivery riders, and this single form of protection mode also makes the occupational injury protection system for riders fragmented and lagging. On the one hand, commercial accident insurance has the endogenous characteristics of commercial insurance, which is “low contribution, low benefit”. Its level of benefit is linked to the contributions base, so it is different from the “no liability compensation” principle of work injury insurance^[11] and results in the survival rights of riders are not effectively protected. On the other hand, compared with the design of the work injury insurance system where the employer bears the responsibility for contributions, commercial accident insurance shifts the responsibility for contributions entirely to the riders. And the higher level of costs and pressure for contributions makes them overwhelmed, resulting in an already precarious income and career that is even more “fragile” and “transient”. In addition, the non-mandatory establishment base in commercial accident insurance contrasts with the younger and more mobile practitioners. Since food delivery riders are mainly young and middle-aged, they are more concerned about their current income and short-term benefits, which will lead to “Reverse Selection”^[12]. What’s more, due to the complicated insurance claims and the “negative” brand image of commercial insurance companies, commercial accident insurance is gradually “abandoned” by the riders.

Table 5 General overview of supplementary occupational health insurance for food delivery riders

Question	Option	Quantity	Percentage(%)
Q1:Have you participated in supplementary occupational health insurance?	Yes No	274 131	67.65% 32.35%
Q2:What are the channels through which you participate in supplementary occupational health insurance?	Purchase in the platform company Buy from insurance companies	231 43	84.31% 15.69%
Q3:What is the reason why you do not participate in supplementary occupational health insurance?	Commercial insurance is more expensive than you can afford. Commercial insurance claims process is complicated. Do not trust commercial insurance companies. The family has sufficient savings and does not need to participate in insurance.	72 37 17 5	54.96% 28.24% 12.98% 3.82%

Data source: compiled by the subject group

3.4 Self-help defense: The function of the risk-avoidance approach, in which family, relatives and friends help each other as the priority, is weakened

Considering the incomplete coverage of the basic protection led by medical insurance and work injury insurance and the slightly single and lagging supplemental commercial accident insurance, some delivery riders are still excluded from the occupational injury protection, which defeats the original purpose of the social security system. With the higher volume of orders, higher risks and mobility, delivery riders are much more likely to be exposed to serious accidents than other types of employees. In this context, it is urgent and necessary to explore the ways of avoiding the risk of serious accidents for delivery riders, which is closely related to their social security rights. Therefore, the research group use “What is the risk-avoidance approach you choose when facing serious accidents？” and “What is the reason for choosing this risk-avoidance approach?” as the core elements to measure the preference and confidence of delivery riders in different risk-avoidance approaches in the event of a major risk encounter. The research data(Table 6) shows that in the event of a major accident, mutual assistance from family and friends became the main way of risk avoidance for delivery riders, accounting for 53.33%. Social insurance, self-savings and commercial insurance are followed, accounting for 21.73%, 12.35% and 10.62% respectively, and only 1.97% of the total sample choose to rely on union help to get through the difficulties. In the analysis of specific reasons, the simplicity of the operation process is the primary reason, accounting for more than half of the total, followed by the high level of payment and subjective confidence, accounting for 28.64% and 18.27% of the total sample respectively, and only 2.72% of the riders have no other choice being compelled by the premise to avoid the risk. The data indicates that the risk-avoidance approaches of the riders when they encounter serious accidents are fragmented and disconnected. On the one hand, different forms of risk-avoidance provide more options for delivery riders, and to a certain extent, disperse the risk of serious accidents. On the other hand, the dominance of mutual assistance from relatives and friends among various risk-avoidance methods makes it a fractured distribution. The reason is closely related to the family protection function, which has been the core of traditional Chinese society. As a fundamental institutional arrangement of Chinese national governance, family has important political, economic, social, and cultural functions, and is the first support system for individuals to obtain resources for social services such as upbringing, education, marriage, employment, pension, medical care, and funeral^[13]. Therefore, the family protection function is not only reflected in nurturing children and supporting the elderly, but also is the first choice for family members in case of serious accidents. In addition, because family members and friends do not need complicated procedures and processes to help each other, a form of mutual assistance based on “mutual trust” also makes delivery riders prefer family in case of serious accidents. From the ancient Chinese “Bao-Jia” system to the modern household registration system, the family has become the logical starting point for risk avoidance and ethical assurance^[14], but its “fragile” structure and informal forms have also greatly weakened its function. Since the Reform and Opening, with the continuous adjustment of Chinese population policy and the influence of modernization trends, the rural population has been moving to the cities, forming a large group of migrant workers, which has led to a smaller and more miniaturized rural family structure. As one of the many groups of migrant workers, delivery riders are caught in the gap between “trying to maintain income” and “trying to avoid risks”, and the huge pressure of life and higher occupational risks make them “overburdened”. It also leads to a weakening of the risk-avoidance of their family. In the event of a serious accident, the preference for “mutual assistance from family” contrasts sharply with the “weakening of family function”. This self-contradictory structural dilemma largely undermines riders’ right to occupational health, while exposing them to higher risks.

Table 6 Choice status of delivery riders when they encounter serious accidents

Question

Option

Quantity

Percentage(%）

Q1:What is the risk-avoidance approach you choose when facing serious accidents？

Social Insurance (Medical/Industrial Injury)
Commercial insurance
Mutual assistance from family, relatives, and friends
Self-savings
Union help

88

43

216

50

8

21.73%

10.62%

53.33%

12.35%

1.97%

Q2:What is the reason for choosing this risk-avoidance approach?

High level of benefits and coverage
Simple operation process
Subjective confidence is sufficient
No other choice being compelled by the premise

116

204

74

11

28.64%

50.37%

18.27%

2.72%

Data source: compiled by the subject group

[10]Meituan.2022 Meituan Rider Rights Protection Social Responsibility Report.

https://waimai.meituan.com/cpc/csrpc/index.html. Accessed 14 April 2023.

[11]China Government Network. Guiding Opinions on Safeguarding the Labor Rights and Interests of Workers in New Employment Patterns. http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2021-07/23/content_5626761.htm. Accessed 14 April 2023.

[12]The research data shows that only 55.06% of food delivery riders signed labor contracts with their employers, 6.91% and 15.31% of food delivery riders signed labor dispatch contracts and labor outsourcing contracts, and more than one-fifth of food delivery riders still did not sign any labor contracts.

[13]Source: 2021 Meituan Riders' Rights and Social Responsibility Report.

Through a study of 405 food delivery riders in C City, J Province, the group found that superficial, disembedded, monolithic and informal problems still exist in the occupational health protection of food delivery riders, which undermines their right to the health and hinders the development process of social security in China. On the premise that the legitimate rights and interests of digital platform workers are infringed, the practice history of Western countries has roughly gone through several stages from identifying workers and providing minimum income protection to guide platform workers to join commercial insurance and gradually improving protection benefits and lowering contributions^[15]. However, in the realistic practice, it still faces difficulties in classifying workers and restrictions on individual participation. Unlike Western countries, some regions in China either include platform workers in the existing work injury insurance system (e.g., Nantong, Jiangsu Province, and Weifang, Shandong Province), or set up single work injury insurance for them (e.g., Zhejiang Province), or directly create an occupational injury protection system for flexibly employed workers (e.g., Suzhou,Jiangsu Province, and Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province). These policy initiatives have filled the gaps in the field of occupational injury protection for workers on Chinese digital platform and safeguarded their labor protection rights. However, it should not be overlooked that these systems have not been elevated to the legal level and are not yet widespread nationwide, so there is still a long way to go for occupational injury protection for them. While the digital economy and new forms of employment are developing in tandem, the occupational health rights and interests of food delivery riders are still not effectively protected. Therefore, on the premise of following the historical trend, the subject group takes a holistic approach, integrates the overall situation, and formulates a policy plan based on the actual situation of food delivery riders in C City based on the development experience of typical regions at other countries, which is conducive to promoting the construction and improvement of its occupational injury protection system.

4.1 From the surface to the core: Guard the bottom line of occupational safety of food delivery riders, and provide labor protection in a comprehensive and deep level

On the one hand, deepen the risk prevention and control responsibilities of platform enterprises, and keep the bottom line of occupational safety of food delivery riders. Platform enterprises have the essential attributes of general enterprises, and are organizations whose economic and social attributes are inseparable and mutually integrated^[16]. Whether from the perspective of the “employer-employee” relationship in economic responsibility or the “social value creation” in social responsibility, platform enterprises have the responsibility to maintain the safety and health of their employees^[17]. The possible policies are as follows. Firstly, optimize the order delivery rules of platform enterprises, flexibly adjust the delivery time according to the work characteristics, delivery distance and traffic conditions of food delivery riders, and then fundamentally reduce the psychological pressure of riders. Secondly, establish a major risk accident injury monitoring and early warning system. Using Internet technology, platform enterprises should monitor and identify routes where potential risks may occur, and then strive to maximize the risk containment. Thirdly, establish an Education and Training system for occupational safety knowledge. New riders need to pass the Safety Training Exams before starting the work. Old riders who have been in the work for a long time need to review the Safety Training and Assessment regularly, and the riders who failed the Assessment would be retrained from the work.

On the other hand, update the labor protection equipment of riders to provide comprehensive and deep level. Advanced, durable labor protection equipment is an important measure to reduce the occupational injuries of food delivery riders. In this regard, combine the labor intensity with work risks of riders and then according to the changing social environment to provide them with safer and more protective equipment. Firstly, equip them with customized intelligent protective helmet. Using Bluetooth transmission, gravity sensing and other technical means, the helmet is equipped with voice calls, collision protection, order recognition and other functions to reduce the difficulty of the helmet's operation, improving experience and enhancing protection for riders. Secondly, provide equipment for protection from cold and heat. According to the climate and environmental changes, provide riders with wind shields, knee pads, gloves and other cold supplies, as well as sun hats, sun glasses, sunscreen, cool oil and other heat protection equipment at the right time. Thirdly, make a good stock of personal protection materials. According to the number of riders, stockpile sufficient protective supplies, including masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, disinfectant and other epidemic prevention supplies, as well as thermometers, cold spirits, fever reducers and other medications are needed during the influenza-prone season.

4.2 From the part to the whole: Expand the coverage of the basic social insurance system and achieve a comprehensive establishment of occupational health protection for food delivery riders

As part of the social insurance system, work injury insurance and medical insurance can guarantee to provide workers with disability pension, sickness allowance, medical coverage and other treatment, which to a certain extent solves the worries of workers and reflects the respect of the state and society to workers. Thus, takeout riders should be gradually included in the scope of work injury insurance and medical insurance to protect their occupational health rights in all aspects. Therefore, the following points should be emphasized in the future policy implementation process. Firstly, support platform enterprises to pay social insurance contributions for food delivery riders, and provide more secure jobs to better achieve sustainable development and thus achieve a benign situation of the platform autonomy. Secondly, encourage local governments to set up Social Insurance Payment Services and Internet Social Insurance Service for food delivery riders, and then provide a more flexible management model, reducing the number of riders who refuse to participate in the insurance due to complicated application procedures and difficulties in transferring and continuing the insurance. Thirdly, support some regions to explore the establishment of a social security system for flexibly employed people. Adhering to the principle of “first establish and then improve” and “first pilot and then promote”, establish a separate social insurance system for flexibly employed persons in the premise of breaking the shackles of labor relations and strengthening the main responsibility of the employer, and gradually include this group in the basic work injury insurance and medical insurance coverage. At last, support the legislative or executive branch to include flexible employment groups represented by food delivery riders in the planning of legislation. And closely combine the development trend of new employment forms and trends, formulating and improving the regulations and systems for flexible employment personnel such as occupational injury protection methods and work injury insurance regulations in a timely manner.

4.3 From emergency to perfection: Unleash the supplementary protection function of commercial insurance to disperse the occupational injury risk of food delivery riders

As a significant supplement to the social insurance system, commercial insurance can, to a certain extent, resolve the social risks faced by members of society and reduce the burden on their families. Therefore, while expanding the scope of the basic social insurance system, the supplementary function of commercial insurance should also be brought into play. On the one hand, it is necessary to strengthen the positive publicity of commercial accidental injury insurance and promote the correct understanding of food delivery riders^[18]. Commercial accident insurance has the characteristics of wide payout, multiple levels of benefit, and quick effect of the protection function, which is important in dispersing the risk of occupational injury and reducing the burden on the family. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen positive publicity, taking the initiative to popularize the role and function of commercial accident insurance to food delivery riders and guide them to purchase commercial insurance when their living conditions allow, so as to reduce the burden on their families in case of accidental injury. On the other hand, the contribution amount of commercial accident insurance should be appropriately reduced to alleviate the contribution burden of food delivery riders. To this end, food delivery riders can be encouraged to organize trade associations or unions to negotiate with platform enterprises utilizing collective bargaining and negotiation to reduce contribution rates by establishing group-type insurance; or support local governments to take the lead and provide partial funding to establish universal commercial insurance that provides food delivery riders with low cost, convenience, and light burden, including minimum basic medical and work injury insurance[14]. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen cooperation with commercial insurance companies to provide them with occupational injury protection. In addition, we should strengthen communication and coordination with commercial insurance companies and call on them to improve the payout standards and levels in due course, simplify the claims procedures and processes, and provide immediate occupational injury protection for delivery riders who are at risk of serious accidents.

4.4 From self-assistance to mutual assistance: Focus on the welfare protection function of the family and reduce the burden of basic social insurance

As the preferred hedge for food delivery riders in the event of a serious accident, mutual help from family and relatives have its unique protection features. On the one hand, the “flow of wealth” between family members is relatively simple, and there is no need to go through a complicated claims process when a family member is at risk. On the other hand, the family-based welfare system has a long history and cultural roots due to the influence of traditional Chinese culture. The establishment of a family-based protection system can reduce family economic pressure and enhance family risk resistance, which in turn reduces the occurrence of family breakups and divorce^[19]. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the family. Firstly, it is necessary to promote the self-reengineering of the welfare protection function of the family, which should not only be regarded as an object receiving social welfare and social services but also as an actor with the ability of self-creation, self-design, and self-adjustment[15], with the significant function of providing risk prevention for family members. Secondly, we should strengthen the policy propaganda and guidance, create a good atmosphere of “friendly family, protection for you and me” in the whole society, strengthen the importance of family protection for the members of the society, and form a concept from self-help to mutual help. Thirdly, we should organize regular public service lectures in the community to promote the knowledge of occupational safety and protection and occupational injury protection to the food delivery riders and their family members, to raise the riders’ awareness of insurance and self-protection, and to improve their ability to recognize and spread the risk.

[14]China Insurance Network. The lack of protection for food delivery riders continues to raise social concerns about whether commercial insurance can cover the protection needs of flexible employment groups.

http://m.china-insurance.com/hyzx/20210203/51937.html. Accessed 14 April 2023.

[15]Sina Public Welfare. Social security reform should focus on the function of the family.

http://gongyi.sina.com.cn/gyzx/2013-03-15/113141685.html. Accessed 15 April 2023.

Based on T.H. Marshall’s theory of citizenship, this study is conducted from the perspective of occupational health rights, and 405 food delivery riders in C City , J Province were surveyed and studied by using questionnaires to analyze the real situation and characteristics of their occupational health at the present stage in four dimensions: labor safety protection, basic occupational health insurance, supplementary occupational health insurance, and risk-avoidance approaches of serious accidents After a year-long questionnaire study, we found that the occupational health of food delivery riders is still not effectively protected, and their health rights are compromised to varying degrees, as shown in the following points. Firstly, the labor protection provided by platform enterprises is mostly clothing and safety tips, and this kind of superficial protection means does not match the high-risk and high-mobility occupational characteristics of food delivery riders. Secondly, it is difficult to cover all the riders with the work injury insurance and the medical insurance, and their willingness to participate in insurance is greatly reduced due to high individual contributions, complicated reporting procedures, and difficulties in transferring to other places. Thirdly, the supplemental protection led by commercial accident insurance is single and lagging, resulting in a large gap between the occupational injury protection treatment of delivery riders and that of regular employees. The fourth is the stark contrast between the riders' preference for “mutual assistance from family” and the “gradual weakening of the family protection function” when they encounter serious accident risks. And this self-contradictory structural dilemma also undermines their occupational health rights. Therefore, based on a thorough understanding of the problem, this study proposes that the occupational health protection for food delivery riders should be based on the principles of “from the surface to the core, from the part to the whole, from emergency to perfection, and from self-assistance to mutual assistance”. In basic protection, the scope of work injury insurance and medical insurance is gradually expanded. In supplementary protection, the supplementary function of commercial insurance is brought into play. In the way of risk-avoidance, family protection is gradually emphasized. and a comprehensive occupational injury protection system based on social insurance, supplemented by commercial insurance and underwritten by family protection is gradually established for food delivery riders. Eventually, a comprehensive occupational injury protection system based on social insurance, supplemented by commercial insurance and underwritten by family protection will be gradually established for food delivery riders.

Due to the impact of the CVOID-2019, the subject group only conducted a small-scale questionnaire survey within C city and did not reach other typical cities in China for field research. The credibility of the study findings still needs to be tested extensively in the future. In addition, due to the unique economic, political, and cultural conditions of different countries, the policy recommendations made in this study may only apply to mainland China. It is believed that shortly, with the concerted efforts of all countries, we will be able to study a universal optimization path for occupational health protection of delivery riders in most countries.

Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the assistance and kindness of the respondents in sharing their experiences and opinions.

Authors’ contributions

HY designed the framework and structure of this research. HY and LH jointly completed all the questionnaires and wrote the manuscript of the paper. The author(s) read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by the Science and Technology Department of Jilin Province, and the grant number is SKZ2023034.

Availability of data and materials

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

Ethics approval and consent to participants

This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Jilin University and conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines. All participants were given a clear explanation of the purpose, process, risks, and benefits of this study, either verbally or in writing. Their informed consent was obtained before taking part in this study.The personal information of participants is kept confidential, and the results obtained are for academic research only.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

1. Shen S, Zeng WF. The concept, framework and path of health China construction. Journal of Zhongshan University (Social Science Edition).2020;60:168-178. https://doi.org/10.13471/j.cnki.jsysusse.2020.01.018.

2. Huang Q. The Right to Health Revisited--On the Civil, Social and Political Rights Attributes of the Right to Health. Tribune of Social Sciences. 2016;01:193-212. https://doi.org/10.14185/j.cnki.issn1008-2026.2016.01.016.

3. Wang M,Peng HM. Social rights in the perspective of welfare system and localized reflection. Theory Monthly. 2022;01:97-104. https://doi.org/10.14180/j.cnki.1004-0544.2022.01.011.

[4-6](UK) T.H. Marshall, Anthony Giddens, et al. Citizenship and social class [M]. Translated by Guo Zhong Hua et al. Nanjing: Jiangsu People's Publishing House, 2009:10-11.

7. Wang Y. The evolution and reflection of the view of social welfare from the perspective of rights. Social Science Front. 2015;09:217-222.

8. Zhu J. The development of social rights in China in the new era and its guarantee of rule of law. Legal Science (Northwest University of Political Science and Law). 2018;05:3-13.

https://doi.org/10.16290/j.cnki.1674-5205.2018.05.063.

9. China Economic Network. Experts suggest: establish a new occupational injury protection system for practitioners. https://baijiahao.baidu.com/ Accessed 15 April 2023.

10. Bai Y. Research on the construction of occupational injury protection system for employees in new industries. Zhongzhou Journal. 2022;07:80-89.

11. Li H, Zhao L. Labor rights and interests protection of employees in the new industry of large platform enterprises in the digital economy era. Reform,2023(01):95-108.

12. Sun ZP. A study on occupational injury protection for those employed on Internet platforms. Lanzhou Journal. 2021;09:83-102.

13. Jia YJ, Fan JX. From rupture to bridging:Changes and reshaping of family pension security function in spatio-temporal perspective. Social Science Front.2019;07:214-221.

14. Wang ZW. Evolutionary considerations of social security family element integration and policies. Dongyue Series.2020;41:64-73.https://doi.org/10.15981/j.cnki.dongyueluncong.2020.02.006.

15. Zhu XY. Exploration of occupational injury protection system for employees in new industries--a study based on the head enterprises of platform economy. Journal of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (Social Science Edition). 2021;35:32-40.https://doi.org/10.19648/j.cnki.jhustss1980.2021.02.05.

16. Xiao HJ,Yang Z. Platform corporate social responsibility:logical starting point and practical paradigm. Economic Management. 2020;42:37-53.https://doi.org/10.19616/j.cnki.bmj.2020.04.003.

17. Xiao HJ, Li P. Ecological governance of platform-based corporate social responsibility. Management World. 2019;35:120-144+196.https://doi.org/10.19744/j.cnki.11-1235/f.2019.0054.

18. Yang X. Exploring the low participation rate of corporate accident insurance in China. Economic Perspectives. 2013;12:16-19.

19. Wang K. A comparison of paths in the study of China's family security system: “security by families” and “security to families” . Population and Society. 2021;37:35-46. https://doi.org/10.14132/j.2095-7963.2021.03.004.

No competing interests reported.

The manifestation of the lack of occupational health rights of food delivery riders and countermeasures: A case study of 405 riders in C City, J Province, China

Status:

Version 1

Abstract

Figures

1. Background

2. Methods

3. Results

4. Discussion

5. Conclusion

Declarations

References

Additional Declarations

Status:

Version 1