Criticism forces Didi, JD to set up unions

CHINESE ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc and e-commerce powerhouse JD.com have set up trade unions for its staff after regulators criticized technology firms for policies that exploit workers.

Didi’s union, announced on an internal forum last month, will be initially managed by employees at its Beijing headquarters and will be guided by the government-backed AllChina Federation of Trade Unions, said two people familiar with matter. They were not authorized to speak to media and declined to be identified.

JD.com established a trade union this week, a newspaper affiliated with the Beijing Federation of Trade Unions said, publishing pictures of the ceremony which was attended by a number of government officials.

JD.com confirmed the news, saying that some of its local units had created unions in past years and the new union — set up at the group level — aimed to coordinate planning and resources.

Didi has been criticized by state media for not paying its drivers fairly and it said in April it would set up a drivers’ committee to improve income stability and transparency over wages.

Didi and JD.com are believed to be the biggest tech firms to date to have established company-wide unions, though authorities in the county of Shishou in China’s Hubei Province said in June that local subsidiaries of Meituan and Alibaba’s Ele.me had established unions.

Meituan and Alibaba did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The two food delivery firms have come under fire in local media for their treatment of delivery workers, most of whom are not covered by basic social and medical insurance.

In July, the ACFTU and seven other top Chinese government bodies published guidance on safeguarding the rights of gig economy workers and suggested unions could play a role in helping negotiate with firms.

China’s top court last month criticized the overtime practice of “996,” working 9am to 9pm six days a week, a policy common among tech firms, saying it was illegal.