Protection of couriers’ rights on agenda

Guideline to address salaries, insurance and responsibilities of employers

China will establish a system to protect couriers’ rights by the end of 2025, providing several million such workers with more stable salaries and better social insurance, the State Post Bureau of China said on Thursday.

Seven government organs, including the Ministry of Transport, the State Post Bureau and the National Development and Reform Commission, will soon issue a guideline to protect the rights of express delivery workers, Chen Kai, deputy head of the bureau, told a news conference in Beijing.

The main goal of the guideline will be to better protect couriers’ rights, including paying them more reasonable salaries, buying them social insurance, and clarifying companies’ responsibilities to protect workers’ rights, Chen said.

The industry will set a standard wage in accordance with the labor input, Chen said.

Express delivery companies will be encouraged to hire couriers directly. At some express delivery stations, where more part-time workers are hired and there is a rapid turnover of staff, the provision of work-related injury insurance for workers will be encouraged, he added.

Chen said express delivery companies will be evaluated on their protection of couriers’ rights.

China’s express delivery sector has prospered in the past decade. Last year, China handled 83.3 billion parcels. The number for this year hit 50 billion earlier this month, with the annual total expected to reach 95 billion.

The booming industry has attracted several million workers, becoming an inseparable part of people’s daily lives.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, couriers insisted on sticking to their posts, sending medical supplies and daily commodities to those in need.

When most people avoided traveling during holidays due to the pandemic, couriers transported gifts from them to family and friends.

While most Chinese believe couriers’ hard work and dedication have greatly improved the quality of people’s lives and provided convenience that was unimaginable in the past, the bad experiences of some couriers due to misunderstandings by customers or employers have thrust their treatment and social welfare into the media spotlight.

Several media reports have featured customers insulting couriers for delivery delays.

Jin Jinghua, director of the bureau’s marketing inspection department, said the guideline will spur delivery companies to identify fake and malicious complaints to better protect couriers’ rights.

Jin also said some delivery enterprises arbitrarily issue fines in response to customers’ complaints without listening to the courier’s side of the story, which ignores their own management problems and puts extra burdens on couriers.

He urged customers to be more understanding and tolerant toward couriers, and delivery companies to be more responsible and thorough in processing complaints, adding that the sector needs to provide channels for couriers to speak up about their reasonable and legitimate demands.

According to a courier satisfaction survey released by China Post News in March, more than half of couriers earned less than 5,000 yuan ($770) a month last year. Only 1.3 percent had monthly incomes exceeding 10,000 yuan.

It also showed that more than 80 percent of couriers were in their 20s and 30s.