Community centers support gig sector's employees

Having finished a delivery, Hou Bo rode his electric motorbike to Yijiashan community in Yiwu, Zhejiang province — known as "the world's supermarket". Instead of rushing to grab his next order, he stepped into a community service center, took a cup of free chilled mung bean soup and topped up his water bottle.

"It's sweltering out there, and the center is a welcome break," said Hou. The community service center is an initiative implemented by the local community Communist Party of China organizations, offering one-stop support for over 6,000 food delivery riders in the area.

Party organizations in urban communities, which lead local social governance, are striving to support tens of millions of workers in new forms of employment similar to Hou's, exploring ways to integrate them into urban life and ease hardships.

"In the past, many workers would leave after a few months because of the high living costs," said Pan Zhiyong, manager of a courier station in Shanghai's Putuo district. "But when you have somewhere to rest and somewhere to live, you start to feel at home," Pan said.

With the help of local Party organizations, a community service center catering to the daily needs of people in new forms of employment and other gig workers has been built on a former parking lot in the district. It offers a 24-hour rest area, emergency medicines, charging stations, showers and laundry facilities.

To ease the housing pressures affecting gig workers, shared apartments are provided. Monthly rent for a spot starts from as low as 500 yuan ($73).

Such moves mirror a wider national trend amid the rapid growth of the digital economy and platform economy. In Beijing, more than 14,000 service hubs are clustered around zones packed with couriers and other flexible work personnel, providing seating, drinking water and rain shelters.

Wu Tao, a professor of grassroots Party building at the China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong, said the role local Party organizations play in fostering connections among people is vital to sound governance, particularly in urban communities characterized by high population density and frequent mobility.

As workers in new forms of employment, particularly delivery riders, constantly move through neighborhoods, office buildings and commercial districts, primary-level Party organizations have found that they are uniquely positioned to contribute to community governance.

New forms of employment refer to jobs that have emerged with the rise of the internet and the digital economy, including roles like food delivery couriers, ride-hailing drivers and online marketers, who rely on internet platforms for their work.

In Songnan township of Shanghai, couriers helped redesign a residential parcel-locker area after sharing suggestions based on their daily delivery experience.

"Delivery workers are often the first to notice problems in a neighborhood," said Yang Yang, a local Party official in Songnan.

The Yijiashan community of Zhejiang has even established volunteer teams that encourage delivery workers to participate in food safety monitoring, meal deliveries for elderly residents and emergency assistance.

Beyond providing support, primary-level Party organizations are also seeking to expand opportunities for long-term career development.

At the service center in Yijiashan community, training sessions on logistics certification, short-video production, livestream e-commerce and new media operations are held regularly. Apart from rest spaces and work opportunities, equal access to public services is also provided to workers in new forms of employment. Local authorities have opened cross-regional medical insurance payment channels for delivery couriers, as well as a pilot program on occupational injury insurance.

Further initiatives are underway to offer this group a more promising life in the city.

XINHUA