Online digital labour platforms in China : working conditions, policy issues and prospects

Digital labour platforms have been proliferating in China since 2005, making China one of the world’s largest platforms economies. This paper summarizes the results of an ILO survey, conducted in 2019, of workers’ characteristics and working conditions on three major digital labour platforms. Using the survey data generated, it provides first-hand information on worker demographics, motivations, and experiences. This paper also compares the findings between the Chinese platforms and dominant Western platforms, the object of previous ILO studies. The paper concludes with a discussion about the need for institutional reforms and suggests some possible avenues for implementing policies to improve working conditions.