Abstract

As?an?O2O?service,?the?food?delivery?industry?has?undergone?significant?advancement?in?the?past few?years?in?China. ?However,?despite?its?outstanding?financial?achievement,the?delivery?platforms such?as?Ele.me?and?MeiTuan?have?also?been?critiqued?for?their?unethical?behaviour?toward?delivery riders. Furthermore, caused?by?opaque?algorithm?and transfer of responsibility and contradiction of the platform, some critical?work-safety?issues?comprising?risks?of?traffic?accidents?and?poor?working conditions?have?been?discussed. This?study?probes?this?issue?by?analyzing?it?in?line?with?ethics?and philosophy theories. As?a?result, three?aspects?of?a?protection?approach?are?proposed?to?mitigate?the?aforementioned challenges. ?Thus, this?study?would?contribute?to?those?ethical?issues?existing?in?the food delivery?industry.

Keywords:?food?delivery?rider; protection; platform

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1????Introduction

Recent years have witnessed a spurt of progress in China’s?Internet?technology, China’s?sharing?economy?has likewise?proliferated.??As?the?platforms?has?found?its?way?into?people’s daily life, numerous flexible employment?opportunities?are?creating.?? A?large?amount?of?workers?achieve?employment?by?providing?services?to?sharing economy?platforms. According?to?estimates?by?the?State?Information?Center, in 2016, the transaction volume of the Chinese?sharing?economy?was?about?3,452 billion?yuan. ?The?number?of?employees?on?the?sharing?economy platform was about 5.85 million. Moreover, the number of people who provided services?for?the?sharing?economy?reached?60 million(Center, 2017).

Meanwhile, the?food?delivery?industry?is?booming?in?China.???According?to?iResearch’s??“2016 China?Food Delivery?O2O?Industry?Development?Report”(iResearch,?2016), China’s?catering?O2O?market?size?in?2015 was 161.55?billion?yuan, accounting?for?5.0% of?the?overall?catering?industry. In?2018, the?catering?O2O?market?will reach?289.79 billion?yuan; in?2015, the?scale?of?the?Chinese?catering?delivery?market?has?exceeded?230 billion yuan, accounting?for?7.4% of?the?overall?catering?consumption. By?2018, this?proportion?is?reaching?14.8%,?and the?overall?scale?of?the?delivery?market?is?that?it?will?also?exceed?660 billion?yuan.

However, due to the failure of relevant laws?and?regulations?to?keep?up?with?the?development?of?the?platform?economy and the changes in the protection of the rights and interests of delivery workers, the problem of the labour rights?and?interests?of?delivery?workers?being?infringed?is?severe. According?to Sohu.com, on April 3, 2016, delivery?workers?in?Meituan’s?East?China?region?went?on?strike?collectively?in?Shanghai?due?to?wage?arrears?and?other issues; Due to the issues?of?wage?arrears?and?arbitrary?deduction?of?money, the?delivery?riders?have?gathered?in?the?Guilin Municipal Labor and Personnel Dispute?Arbitration?Institute?to?defend?their?rights?collectively(Sohu,2017).?Online?platform?practitioners?have?insufficient?employment?security?and?are?prone?to?encounter?unreasonable labour?quotas, labour?fraud, lack?of?welfare, and?insufficient?social?security(Hu,?2018).

Furthermore, writing on digital?labour?and?food?delivery?was?rare?until?some?years?prior?and?has?boomed?as?it?were?as?of?late(Abilio,?Grohmann, & Weiss, 2021; Anwar?& Graham, 2020, 2021; Barratt, Goods, & Veen, 2020;?Ferrari?& Graham, 2021; Gregory, 2021; Moore & Woodcock, 2021; Tassinari & Maccarrone, 2020; Veen, Barratt,?&?Goods,?2020). ?In?any?case, within?the?setting?of?China, there?are?still?few?thinks?centring?on?how?delivery riders?adjust?to?this?work?setting?and?how?they?arrange?and?respond?to?the?algorithmic?control?of?food?delivery companies(Lei, 2021; C. Liu?& Friedman, 2021; Sun, 2019).

This article adopts a top-down perspective to?present?the?possibility?of“human?beings” as?the?main?body?of?labour. Through the research perspective of “algorithms and daily labour?practices”, the?protection?is?probed?of?labour?rights?and?the?interests?of?Chinese?delivery?workers?from manifold perspectives. ?And this research lights up?hypothetically?conceivable diverse shapes of resistance to the control of the food delivery platforms that are

rising?among?Chinese?riders,?such as complex strategies of “gaming”the platforms’ calculation. These approaches?are plausibility and manage to bolster each other to outlive in this heartless?economy. Thus, the?results?highlight how?riders?can?utilise?a?few?approaches?to?stand?up?to?the?food?delivery?platforms?they?work?for?and?how?they can?cooperate?with?us?consumers?against?the?persecution?from the platform.

2????Methodology

In?order?to?study?how?to?safeguard?the?legitimate?rights?and?interests?of?riders, the?methodology?of?this?paper involves theoretical analysis, moral considerations and?research?restrictions.

From?a?philosophical?point?of?view, identifying?individual?things?from?general?concepts?is?the?characteris-?tic?of?the?riders’ social?phenomenon. ?The?speculative deduction method is adopted through certain concepts, categories?and?systematic?analysis?and?identification?of newly observed phenomena. ?The analysis of the neces- sity?to?protect?riders?is?based?on?Foucault’s?panopticon(Foucoult,?1975) and?the?machine?view?of?the?Marxist philosophy(MacKenzie, 1984) method.

Concretely, the article compares some?mainstream?algorithms?found?on?the?Internet?to?discover?the?restrictions?of?the?platform’s?algorithm(Mar`a?et?al.,2021;Todol′?-Signes,2021;G. Zou?& Li,?2020). As for the issue of platform?transfer?contradictions?and?conflicts, this?category?of?behaviour?is?irrational?from?the?perspective?of?ethics. After that, starting?from?the?concept?of?how?to?solve?the?algorithm’s?limitations?and?the?concept?of?equal rights and interests of riders, this article tries?to?find?out?the?difficulties?encountered?by?riders?to?participate?in?social?security?affairs(Papakostopoulos?& Nathanael, 2021; Xu?& Jiang, 2021). Ultimately, it?gives?corresponding?solutions?from the legal?level.

Specific?practical?cases?are?utilised?to?further?discuss?the?problem. Through?inductive?analysis, we?can?com-?prehend what?methods?and?measures?the?platform?has?adopted?to?restrict?riders?from?abandoning?their?legitimate?rights?and?interests.

3????Related?Work

With the growth of our country’s service industry, it now accounts for a significant portion of GDP. The?number of?employees?is?steadily?expanding. In?July?2016, the?new?blue-collar?population?was?15.48 million, and?by?July 2020, it will have increased to 33.79 million(Castells,?1996)QuestMobile2020. According?to?a?picture?study, riders and couriers account for most of the emerging blue-collar population. ?As online services grow, offline?resources feed back into the system, and more workers join.

The number of riders and couriers has increased as a result of the?rapid?development?of?these?two?industries and the?deployment?of?the?digital?economy. There?are?numerous?domestic?studies?on?this?topic?as?well. Liu(L. Liu,?2020)?proposed that some technologies, such as big data, be used to examine the performance of online restaurant?qualifications?and?to?collaborate?with?government?oversight?offices?for?governance. ??It?may?also?fully?exploit the?benefits?of?many?subjects, ?integrate?various?departments, ?enterprises, ?and?society, ?and?make?full?use?of all?parties’ advantages?and?resources?to?assure?efficient?supervision?and?create?a?harmonious?and?cooperative environment(Hu?Yifan, 2016). Zhang Feng(Feng, 2018) emphasises the importance of social power, arguing that government oversight is insufficient and that social powers such as industry associations and autonomous?groups should participate in the regulation of the entire sector’s responsibilities?as?both?public?and?private?powers.

Delivery?workers?are?compelled?to?deal?directly?with?the?market, which?is?beyond?the?scope?of?the?employ-?ment?relationship?and exposes them to market risk, which should be carried by the employer(Arnold & Bongiovi,?2013;?Stewart & Stanford,?2017). ?Furthermore, some of the platform’s algorithms place significant constraints on workers’autonomy. ?Sun Ping(Ping, 2019) discovered that platforms employ algorithms?to?carry?out?increas-?ingly?accurate?and?standard?management?of?workers?and?that?the?entire labour process of workers is subject to supervision, based on her research?on?outsourcing?riders.

The “uncertainty”generated?by?independent?employment?is?the?primary?management?difficulty?encountered?by?online?labour?platform?firms?in?the?face of such a vast free labour market. The platform for avoiding employment?hazards?and?ensuring?the?successful?translation?of?labour?into?products and services has become “control.”Workers?work?by?the?platform?algorithm?design’s?message(Rosenblat?& Stark,?2016;?Van?Doorn,?2017) and?follow?the directions?to?finish?the work to get paid concealed behind the data transfer is essentially an online platform utilising?new?technologies?to?govern the labour power(Rosenblat & Stark,?2016). As a result of real-time monitoring, job autonomy?may?be?reduced, flexible?platforms?for?new?employment?modes?of?work autonomy appear to be more?limited,?and workers are still not informed in real-time quantitative, hidden intelligence platform under the control?of hard work, the work independent?paradox?phenomenon?has?gradually?aroused?the?concern?of?the?theoretical circle(Mazmanian, Orlikowski, & Yates, 2013; Shevchuk, Strebkov, & Davis, 2019).

As?a?result, this?article?examines?and?comments?on?studies?on?the existing online algorithm for labour platform?management, starting?with?task?allocation, behaviour?control, performance?evaluation, and?dynamic?compensa-?tion,?and?moving?on?to?other?aspects?of?workers’control?and?influence. ?Based?on?this, various?techniques?for assisting workers in escaping this control and reducing company?control?over?workers?are?presented.

4????Necessity

4.1????Occupational?Status

There?are?already?multiple?jobs?in analysing the occupational status of food delivery riders. This article takes Liu Jiachun’s?2020 survey?of?delivery?riders?in?Guangzhou(Jiachun,?2020) as an example to analyse the occupational?status?of?delivery?riders.

First?of?all, the?salary?system?that?pays?more?for?more?work?is?the?most?significant?factor?attracting?job seekers. According to the survey results, the salary factor is the most critical factor affecting?personal?satisfaction with?the?occupation. ?In?the?outside?distribution?industry, the?income?source?of?the?delivery?riders?is?apparent.?The?number?of?delivery?orders, the?more?orders?completed, the?higher?the?salary?income. Higher, and?there will be?additional?rewards?after?reaching?a?certain?amount. Getting?more?for?more work is a common practice in the industry, and?delivery?riders?have?also?recognised?it. ?Delivery?riders?who?work?hard?can?even?earn?a?monthly salary?of?more?than?10,000 yuan.

Second, relatively free working hours are also a significant factor in attracting?job?seekers. The?delivery?riders do not?have?a?fixed?working?time?and?place?thanks?to?the?particular?working?mechanism. The?delivery?riders?can choose the working time by themselves. During the working period, the busy time?nodes?are?concentrated?during?lunch?and?dinner. The?rest?of?the?time?is?in?a?state?of?occasional?orders?and?frequent?breaks. The?delivery?riders can freely use this free time. The relatively free working time attracts more and more?people?who?do?not?want?to restrict job seekers.

Third,?the?lower?entry?barriers?provide?a?large?number?of?employment?opportunities. ?As?a?labour-intensive industry, the food delivery industry does not have high requirements for riders. To become a food delivery?worker only?requires?simple?communication?skills?and?a?smartphone, and?even?electric?vehicles?as?delivery?tools can be rented?from?the?company. ?The?continuous?growth?of?the?food?delivery?industry?has?also?created?numerous?job demands.

At?the?same?time, there?are?also?numerous?problems?in?the?work?of?food?delivery?riders, such?as?unstable work, the?unclear employment relationship between riders and food delivery platforms, and a high turnover rate;?platforms?have?strict?restrictions?on?delivery?time, and?unreasonable?factors?exist, resulting?in?The?distribution process is prone to safety accidents; the income uncertainty is high, the salary level is wholly?linked?to?the?labour level,?the?labour?time?is?long, and?the?labour?intensity?is?high; Lack?of?protection?of?labour?rights, the?platform evades employment?by?registering?riders?as?self-employed, and?delivery?riders?are?indifferent?to?their?rights?and interests. In addition, there?are?problems?such?as?the?lack?of?personal?career?prospects.

4.2????Philosophical?Perspectives

In?Discipline?and?Punish?(Foucoult, 1975), Foucault proposed the concept of “Panopticism” to portray the mech-?anism of surveillance and power?operation?in?modern?society. ?In??“panopticism”, Foucault?constructed?a?state where?the?authority?can?monitor?everyone?in?modern?society. People?constantly?need?to?remind?themselves?to?pay?attention?to?whether?their?behaviour?conforms?to?the?norm. ?Furthermore, this?description?is?more?appropriate for the labour process of food delivery riders.

The?monitoring?of?riders comes from both the online platform and the labour situation in which the riders live.?These?incorporate?the?monitoring?of?riders?by?the?delivery?algorithm?system, the?attention?of?site?managers?to riders, and the background gaze of customers on riders?delivering?meals. The?increasingly?complete?food?delivery?algorithm system brings more and more high-quality route planning assistance to the rider and, at the same?time,?brings?more?advanced?monitoring.

The?application?of?machines?ought?to?speed?up?the?work?efficiency?of?workers, gain?more?leisure?time?for workers, and?construct?conditions?for?the?actualisation?of?the?unrestrained?growth?of?human?beings. ?However,?the nature of capital’s profit-seeking makes machines ultimately become a means of extending workers’working hours and?obtaining?surplus?value. ?Food?delivery?platforms?also?have?the?same?problem. ?According?to?relevant statistics?and?surveys, food?delivery?riders?generally?report?long?working?hours, overwhelming?tasks, and?high pressure; traffic?safety?is?the?rider’s?top?concern..

Although?the?salary?of?the?rider?has?advantages?over?other?positions, the?price?of?a?high?salary?is?a?long working?time: according?to?the?survey, the?rider?has?an?average?of?two?days?off?or?no?rest?every?month, the?salary?is 5000-8000 yuan, and?the?working?hours?are?8-13 hours(P. Li,?2019). Behind?the?principle?of?bill?settlement?and more?pay?for?more?work?is?proof?that?the?platform?economy?is?still?basically?a?labour-intensive?industry?in?the period of sharing economy. ?Behind the ”high salary” are?longer?working?hours?and?tremendous?work?pressure,?the?hidden?threat?to?people’s?lives?and?health, and?the?blockade?of?people’s?accessible?and?comprehensive?growth.

5????Methods?Used?by?Platforms?to?Oppress?Delivery?Riders

5.1????Occupational?Algorithms

The food delivery platform?has?designed?a?complete?set?of?algorithms?according?to?the?distribution?link, the?central?part?of?which?is?order?scheduling and route planning. In the platform, the intelligent algorithm management system

has become the core tool for platform enterprises to control the behaviour of delivery riders. ?The limitations of the?delivery?algorithm?mainly?include?the?design?idea?that?the?algorithm?ignores?the?interests?of?the?rider, the natural?limitation?of?the?algorithm, and?the?imperfection of the algorithm design.

The algorithm design mainly considers time efficiency, and the goal of algorithm optimisation is to compress ETA?(Estimated?Time?of?Arrival)(Qin, Liu, & Jiang, 2021). In?order?to?improve?customer?satisfaction?and?then seize?market?share, food?delivery?platforms?continue?to?compress?delivery?time, ignoring?the?interests?of?riders.?The?reduction?in?the?average?delivery?time?brings?more?safety?hazards?to?the?riders. ?Nevertheless, the?rider’s salary?has?not?improved?with?the?increase?in?orders. With?the?gradual?stabilisation?of?the?food delivery industry, the?industry?has?entered?a?state?of?stock?competition. ?In?recent?years, the?wages?of?riders?have?shown?varying degrees?of?decline?due?to?the?gradual?reduction?of the cost per order(Yuan,?2021).

The essence of an algorithm?is?a?specific?thinking?path?or?method, which?belongs?to?human?wisdom?and?has natural limitations. Algorithms?coordinate?orders?and?transport?capacity?but?cannot?handle?the?conflict?between increased?order?volume?and?insufficient?capacity. ?The?order?volume?increases?under?exceptional?circumstances such as typhoon days and blizzard weather, but the rider delivery time increases?sharply. Orders?can?be?digested by?artificially?increasing?the?number?of?riders?receiving?orders?simultaneously. ??Nonetheless, when?riders?are overloaded?with?orders,?safety?accidents?are?the?potential?to?occur. ?The?data?shows?that?88.28% of?the?riders choose?to?violate?the?traffic?safety?rules?because?they?are?worried?about?the?overtime?of?their?orders(T. Li?& Li,?2021).

There are some defects in the design of the?algorithm, such?as?unreasonable?navigation, not?considering?the significant variance of meal time, and the way?distances?are?calculated. Some?delivery?riders?responded?that?there?are problems such as?walking?mode?and?retrograde?guidance?in?the?navigation?of?food?delivery?routes(K. Zou?&?Chen,?2021). ?Due?to?the?increase?in?the?number?of?orders?received?by?restaurants?during?the?peak?period?and the?inability?to?prepare?special?meals?in?advance, the?meal?delivery?time?is?prone?to?large?fluctuations. ?If?the delivery?time?is?estimated?by?the?average?meal?time, it?is?prone?to?order?overtime. In?addition, when?calculating the?distribution?distance, the?algorithm?often?ignores?unique?terrains?such?as?red?street?lights, elevators, and overpasses(Jin, 2021).

5.2????Transfer?of?Contradiction

On September 9, 2020, Ele.Me announced a new function of their delivery app called?”Would?you?like?to?give?me?five more minutes?” In this slogan, the “You” are customers; the“Me” stands for delivery riders. This function asks?the?customers?if?they?would?be?willing?to?give?more?delivery?time?to?the?riders?if?they?are?not?in?a?hurry,?which?indirectly?says?that??“if?the?delivery?riders?got?involved?in?the?traffic?accidents, it?is?the?customers’ fault that?they?did?not?want?them?to?slow?down.”If?we?think?of?this?action?rationally, they?are?morally?kidnapping their?customers. ??The?announcement?provoked?outrage?on?the?Internet, with?myriad?questioning?that?Ele.Me transferred?the?conflict?to?consumers?and?riders, ?“Why?doesn’t?the?platform?give?them?more?time?to?deliver”.?The?time?compression?caused?by?the?compulsory?platform?order, the?delay?of?the?restaurant?dining?out, and the?technical?blind?spot?are?all?critical?factors?that?lead?to?the?rider’s?timeout. ?Nevertheless, these?factors?are not?recognised?by?the?platform, nor?are?they?well?known?to?the?public. ?It?can?be?said?that?the?platform?is?the dominant?rider?time?race, the?restaurant?is?the?rider?time?limit?ignored, and?the?technical?blind?spot?is?the?rider time?pressure?booster. ?However, the?rider?himself?is?the?burden?of?the?timeout?problem. ?In?recent?years, there have?been?numerous?reports?of?conflicts?between?consumers?and?delivery?riders, and?some?of?them?have?even turned?into?vicious?incidents(Yi?Zhu, 2017). ?These?events?reflect?a?common?essence: ?the?takeout?platform?has turned?its?conflict?over?the?payment?distribution?into?a?conflict?between?the?customer?and?the?rider?over?the service experience.

The reason why the contradiction can be transferred successfully?is?the?establishment?of?the?customer?evalua-?tion mechanism(Zhao & Wang, 2017). In the Internet platform economy, the platform?system?will?issue?evaluation?invitations?to?customers?after?the?service?of?delivery?riders?is?over. ?While?not?all?customers?actively?rate, this evaluation mechanism?is?a?highly?credible?threat?that?may?lead?to?negative?results. In?theory, the?evaluation?score?is?made?by?the?customer according to the service experience. However, different customers have different feelings?and?requirements?for?the?service.?The factors that affect the customer service experience in real life are incredibly?complex?and?are?not?controlled?by?the labourer. Most customers hope that the shorter the expected delivery time,?the?better. ?Once?the?rider?exceeds?the?time?limit?and?fails?to?meet?the?customer’s?psychological?expectations,?many?customers?will?be?dissatisfied?and?give?a?bad?review. Theoretically, the?time?left?by?the?platform?for?riders should be more than enough. Why is the overtime problem? It?is?related?to?the?order?distribution?method?of?the platform, the meal arrangement of restaurants and the blind?spot?of?the?technology?itself.

For?the?order?distribution?method?of?the?platform, when?the?rider?hangs?excessive orders, the delivery time will?become tense. ?For example(Shen, 2019), during the?afternoon?rush?hour, a?rider?received?seven?orders?from?the system. The first one was delivered at 11:45 and required to be delivered at 12:30, and the last one was delivered?at?12:15 and?required?to?be?delivered?at?13:00. The?rider?needs?to?complete?seven?orders?within?75 minutes.?The average?delivery?time?for?each?order?is?less?than?11 minutes, rather?than?30 minutes, as?the?customer?sees. ?In addition,?the?delay?in?the?meal?of?merchants?will?also?make?riders?pay?the?price. For?many?restaurants, takeout business?is?only?to?expand?the?source?of?customers?and?increase?revenue?through?new?channels; dining?is?the main business. ?According?to?the?agreement?between?the?platform?and?the?merchant, the?merchant’s?estimated

meal?delivery?time?is?15 minutes?after?the?customer?places?an?order; this?time?is?relatively?abundant?in?regular hours?but?not?enough?in?the?afternoon?and?evening?peak?hours. ?The?platform?will?not?fine?the?delay?in?meal delivery, but?the?rider?will?bear?the?consequences. ?Moreover, there?are?numerous?blind?spots?in?the?platform system?that?can?not?be?predicted?and?managed?effectively, which further increases the complexity and difficulty of?distribution. The?riders?still?bear?the?negative?consequences. The?blind?area?that?technology?can?not?reach?is mainly the complexity of traffic conditions, the difference in customer’s specific position and the unreliability?of technology itself.

5.3????Transfer?of?Responsibility

As a new economic form, the?food?delivery?platform?is?closely?connected?with?people’s?life. Furthermore, it?makes?people’s?lives?more?convenient, and?it?helps?reduce?employment?pressure. ?However, in?the?process?of?pursuing?economic interests, the?food?delivery?platform?forgets?various?responsibilities?which?it?should?bear. ?Even?worse,?the?platform transfers them to other social subjects.

According?to?the?research?of?Shukai?Zhang,?many restaurants without food safety licence have been found to?join?food?delivery?platforms?such?as?Meituan(S. Zhang?& Lei,?2016). This?phenomenon?leads?to?a?serious?threat to customers’ health. As?a?platform?aimed?to?provide?services?to?consumers, it?should?strengthen?the?inspection?of?restaurants?and?take?responsibility?for?customers’ food?safety, rather than put all the blame on the restaurants.

In addition, the traffic accidents caused by?delivery?riders?occur?more?and?more?frequently. On?the?surface, it is?the?riders’fault?for?violating?traffic?rules. However, fundamentally, the?frequent?occurrence of traffic accidents is?due?to?the?pressure?imposed?by?the?food?delivery?platform(Lv, Zhen, & Guo, 2021). In?order?to?maximise profits, the?platforms?use?the?mechanism?for?customer?complaints, fines, and?other?means?to?squeeze?the productivity of?delivery?riders?to?create?more?profits. ?On?the?contrary, they?shift?the?responsibility?for?personal?safety?to?social traffic?and?riders.

Currently, full-time riders?and?crowdsourced?riders?are?the?main?types?of?delivery?workers?who?sign?different labour?contracts(Que, 2021). ??Full-time?riders?have?a?legal?relationship?with?a?labour?outsourcing?company.?Nevertheless, there?is?no?direct?relationship?between?the?food?delivery?platform?company?and?them. ?From?the perspective?of?the?contract?contents?of?crowdsourced?riders, the?riders?and?the?platform?are?a?civil?contractual relationship, not a labour relationship. Therefore, the food delivery platform can shirk the responsibility?regardless?of?the?type?of?riders. ?Wang?Quanxing?showed?his?point?of?view?in?the?article?”Features, Challenges?and?Legal Regulations?of?Flexible?Employment?in?my?country’s?New?Economy” that?the?current?Internet?platform?has changed the traditional employment relationship in order?to?transfer?the?responsibility?of?the?employer(Wang?&?Liu,?2021), so a large number of flexible employment workers have appeared in the society.

With the development of?the?platform?economy, the?monopoly?phenomenon?of?the?platforms?has?gradually begun?to?appear. The?result?of?monopoly?is?that?restaurants?and?riders?have?no?choice. From?the perspective of riders, the food delivery platform reduces the salary?of?them. From?another?point?of?view, the?food?delivery?plat-?form claims extra management fees from restaurants, further increasing the economic burden. These?behaviours squeeze?riders?and?restaurants?but?eventually?lead?to?consumers?paying?the?bill. ?For the above reasons, current food?delivery?platforms?have?done?great?damage?to?the?market?environment, which?increasing?the?pressure?on?the?government?to?maintain?the?market?order.

6????The?Specific?Protection?Approach

6.1????Self?Protection

As grass-roots workers, riders?have?formed?the?work?values?of?”making?money?is?the?most?important”and?”time?is the first”. The high working hours and intensity?also?greatly?increase?the?probability?of?safety?accidents?caused?by?fatigue?driving?in?the?process?of?food?delivery.?At the same time, most of them lack road safety knowledge, and?often?have?a?fluke?mentality. Therefore, riders?should?take?the?initiative?to?learn?safety?knowledge?and?laws?and regulations, for themselves and their families. As?the?slogan?of?the?Wandering?Earth?goes, “Routes?are?countless,?safety is foremost, with unregulated?driving, your?loved?ones?end?up?in?tears.”

Riders?mechanically?work?according?to?the?platform?algorithm, but?the?algorithm?often?has?many?defects,?such as incorrect route recommendation and too short delivery time. Under the strict evaluation?mechanism, the riders?should?bear?the?consequences?of?the?working?errors?caused?by?the?platform algorithm defects. ?Although riders?can?propose?the?right?to?interpret?the?algorithm?to?the?platform, they?cannot?be?well?treated?due to their weak individual power. Therefore, riders need to unite?with?each?other, or?establish?an?association?to?protect?the rights and interests of riders, and organize riders to seek legal rights and interests?together.

In?addition, it?is?difficult?to?confirm?labor?relations?due?to?the?diversity?of?workers?employed?by?riders. Once the?riders confront the platform to safeguard their rights and interests, the platform has absolute power. Existing?conditions, through?litigation?to?solve?the?problem?of?right?to?work?is?the?most?effective, so?the?riders?need?to have?certain?legal?common?sense, especially?the?need?to?have?some?evidence?of?consciousness. ?In?the?process?of?establishing?employee?relationship?with?the?platform, all?written?materials?and?relevant?evidence?related?to?the

platform’s commitment?should?be?properly?preserved, and?seek?help?from?legal?professionals?in?time?if?any?of?the?above problems occur.

6.2????Social?Protection

The food delivery industry covers numerous people and has a significant impact. Its healthy development requires the joint maintenance of all sectors of society. ?Only by establishing and improving?the?collaborative?governance mechanism of multiple government departments?and?actively?playing?the?role?of?consumer?complaints?and?social?media supervision can the relationship between the platform and riders be harmonious for?a?long?time.

As the served group, consumers need to clearly understand the scope of takeout service while safeguarding their??rights and interests. Some riders?were?maliciously?criticized?by?customers?because?they?refused?to?meet?customers’?requirements?other?than?delivering?meals(Xiang?& You, 2022), which?violated?the?spirit?of?the?contract. ?When ?the meal delivery is delayed due to emergencies, riders need more tolerance and kindness from consumers.

The?food?delivery?platform?is?the?largest?stakeholder?in?the?takeout?industry?and?bears?the?responsibility of?maintaining?the?rationalisation?of?rules?and?humanisation?of?algorithms(B. Zhang,?2021). ?The?platform?shall take the following measures to implement relevant responsibilities: ?improve and upgrade the appeal function?of delivery riders to avoid affecting the?assessment?of?delivery?riders?due?to?overtime?and?complaints?caused?by?bad?weather?and?accidents; establish?a?mutual?evaluation?system?between?delivery?riders?and?consumers?to?reduce the impact of negative bad reviews by consumers; add factors?such?as?meal?time, road?conditions, and?hardware facilities?that?affect?delivery?efficiency?to?the?timing?algorithm to ensure a reasonable delivery time limit.

6.3????National?Protection

The?government?is?expected?to?improve?current?labour law. ?The gig economy workers should be regarded as a specific?occupational?type?because?a?clear?definition?can?help?solve?the?problem of ambiguous labour relations. The labour rights?and?interests?of?delivery?riders?should?be?included?in?the?protection?scope?of?the?labour?law.

The?more?transparent?the?algorithms?are, the?less?likely?riders?are?squeezed. ?The?related?policies?should?be issued to require the food delivery platform to disclose the algorithm rules. ?One of the advantages?of?doing?this is that delivery?riders’ right?to?information?can?be?guaranteed. What’s?more, the?supervision?of?the?food?delivery?platforms can be strengthened.

Penalties?should?be?made?for?monopolistic?behaviour.?On the issue of monopoly, the problem that restaurants?are?forced?to?”choose?one” is?particularly?prominent. ??This?limits?market?competition, stifles?innovation?and development and damages the interests of restaurants and consumers. The food delivery platforms need to?avoid monopolistic development to truly serve the entity economy.

7????Results?and?Discussion

In conclusion, even though the food delivery industry is a?pretty?successful?O2O?service?in?China?and?reflects?the emergence of a new normal in China’s economy, there are?still?problems?when?it?comes?to?labour?rights?and?the?interests of delivery workers by taking a closer look at the interviews?and?news?articles?of?some?delivery?workers.

The?delivery?platform?used?opaque?algorithms?to?squeeze?delivery?time?from?the?delivery?rider?due?to?the unreasonable design of the algorithms, such?as?path?planning, order?allocation, rewards?and?punishments, et?al.,?causing?the?rider?to?be?in?a?rush?to?delivery?and?fall?into?a?traffic?accident.

In?the?face?of?these?problems, the?platform?did?not?actively?solve?its problems but began to transfer contra- dictions and responsibilities.

For one?thing, through?the?evaluation?mechanism, the?platform?transforms?the?conflict?between?the?rider?and?the?customer?on?the?payment?distribution?into?the?conflict?between?the?rider?and?the?customer?on?the?service experience, leading to the vicious conflict between the rider and the customer user.

Besides, takeout platforms are?not?responsible?for?the?food?safety?of?restaurants?and?the?safety?of?riders?and rely on their monopoly status to reduce riders’ wages. ?In addition, as a new form of labour?in?the?gig?economy era,?it?is?hard?to?find?clear?protection?clauses?from?national?laws?and?regulations?due?to?the?ambiguity?of?their identity?and?lack?of?a?perfect?social security mechanism.

It can be seen that the?food?delivery?rider’s?living?environment?is?terrible. We?must?take?measures?to?protect?the?food?delivery rider’s legitimate rights and interests. According to the above discussion, we discuss protecting?riders’ rights?and?interests?from three angles.

From the riders’ perspective, it is necessary to strengthen the rider’s traffic safety training to improve their awareness?of?traffic?safety. ??Due?to?the?weak?personal?strength, ?delivery?riders?can?jointly?record?the?illegal behaviour?of?the?platform?and?actively?join?the?guild?to?participate?in?collective?negotiations?and?sign collective contracts?to?ask?for?their?legitimate?rights?and?interests.

From?a?social?perspective, the?healthy?development?of?the?delivery?industry?requires?standard?maintenance of?all?sectors?of?society. ?Consumers?can?give?riders?more?tolerance?while?protecting?their?rights?and?interests.?Delivery?platforms should change the original reward and punishment mechanism, establish a more humanised

evaluation mechanism, and bear responsibility for the interests?of?consumers. The?restaurant?must?also?take?into account?the?limitations?of?the?rider?and?provide?a?relatively?preferred?dining?order?for?the?riders;

Finally,?we?discuss?it?from?a?national?perspective. ?The?newly?born?labour?form?urgently?needs?replacement labour relations and laws and regulations to specify what obligations and responsibilities the platform should?pay.?Another?significant?aspect?is?that, while?some?of?the?optimization?strategies?for?delivery?times?have?been?made public, many?problems?remain?hidden?in?the algorithm’s black box. The relevant departments need to monitor the?platform algorithm, improve?the?algorithm’s?transparency, and?punish?the?monopoly?behaviour?of?the?platform.?The?Beijing?leadership, including?the?trade?union?federation, eventually?issued?a?set?of?”guiding?opinions” in?an?attempt?to?strengthen?protection?for?food?delivery?workers?(RESOURCES?& SOCIAL?SECURITY,?2021). ?The contestation of power between labour and capital will continue to?play?out?in?state-guided?digital?capitalism.

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