Revealing the bloody secret of capital from the income of the US group riders

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I mentioned in the article "E-commerce is the culprit of consumption leveling and involution in China" published on February 2 1 65438 that the e-commerce platform expanded the market through unfair competition means such as massive subsidies in the expansion period and high income in advance, and gradually canceled subsidies and reduced the income of platform participants after reaching a certain scale, which objectively lowered the social income level, which was an important factor for leveling consumption. In fact, the barbaric growth of e-commerce and the capital behind it, taking advantage of the public's tolerance for new things and the government's support for new industries, not only created flat and involuted consumption, but also plundered the hard-earned money of small merchants, couriers, riders and other flexible employees relying on e-commerce platforms, which aggravated the polarization between the rich and the poor in society.

At present, our large-scale e-commerce companies have online shopping, live broadcast, WeChat business, group purchase, take-away, online freight, urban transportation and other platforms. If we further study the income of couriers of online shopping platforms such as Taobao and Pinduoduo, riders of online take-out platforms such as Meituan and Hungry, drivers of online urban freight platforms such as cargo lasses and fast dogs (the squeezing of small businesses by e-commerce platforms is another article), we will be surprised to find several e-commerce industry secrets that subvert our impression.

First, the income of flexible employees on e-commerce platforms is generally lower than the average social income level.

1. The income of takeaway riders in recent three years is about 40% lower than the social wage.

According to the "20 18 Meituan rider take-out employment report" released by Meituan Research Institute, in 20 18, the total number of Meituan platform riders reached 3.23 million, of which 35% earned less than 3,000 yuan per month, 6 1% was between 4,000 and 8,000 yuan, and 4% exceeded 8,000 yuan. According to the weighted calculation of the median income by segment, the average monthly income of the US group riders is 4,720 yuan, which is 3 1.3% lower than the average social wage of that year.

According to the employment reports of Meituan riders during the epidemic in 20 19 and 2020 released by Meituan Research Institute, the total number of riders passing through Meituan platform in 20 19 reached 3.99 million, an increase of 23.3% compared with 20 18. In that year, 32.9% of riders earned less than 3,000 yuan, 30.2% earned 3,000-5,000 yuan, 29.2% earned 5,000-8,000 yuan and 7.7% earned more than 8,000 yuan. According to the weighted calculation of the median income by segment, the average monthly income of US group riders is 4,262 yuan, which is 43.5% lower than the average social wage in the same year. The gap has widened greatly.

According to the data in the Report on the Employment of Riders in the First Half of 2020, in the first half of 2020, even affected by the epidemic, 45.7% of riders still earned 4,000-8,000 yuan a month, and 7.7% earned more than 1000 yuan a month. According to the weighted calculation of the median income by segment, the average monthly income of US group riders is 43 16 yuan. It is 46.8% lower than the social wage of that year, and the gap is further widened.

2. In the past three years, the gap between the group income of couriers and social wages has expanded from about 10% to about 40%.

According to the Insight Report of 20 18 Express Delivery Group jointly issued by CBNData and Suning.cn, the total number of express delivery groups in 20 18 has reached 3 million, with an average wage of about 6,200 yuan, which is 9.7% lower than the average social wage in that year.

The "20 19 National Career Report for Express Employees" issued by China Post Express shows that 75.07% of express employees earn less than 5,000 yuan a month, 3,000-4,000 yuan accounts for 27.05%, 4,000-5,000 yuan accounts for 2 1.28%, and in 2000-3,000. According to the weighted calculation of the median income by segment, the average monthly income of couriers in 2065438+2009 was 4358 yuan, which was 42.2% lower than the average social wage in that year.

The Blue Book of 202 1 Society sponsored by China Academy of Social Sciences shows that (last year), over 50% of couriers earned less than 5,000 yuan a month, and only 1 10,000 yuan earned more than/kloc-0.3%. In 2020, the average monthly income of couriers is 4859 yuan, which is 40. 1% lower than the social wage of that year.

3. The gap between the drivers' income and the social wages of urban transportation platforms has expanded from about 3.5% higher to about 36% lower.

On October 29th, 20021165438+/kloc-0, the survey on the income of truck drivers released by the owner's guide showed that more than 70% of truck drivers earned less than 6,000 yuan a month, and the average monthly income of truck drivers was only 5,040 yuan.

According to our survey of 12 1 drivers who have worked on the platform for more than 3 years, the average income of 20 18-2020 is 20 187 107 yuan and 201respectively. The income of 36 yuan in May 20201is close to the income of 5040 yuan surveyed in the owner's guide, which shows that the reliability of the survey results is still relatively high. According to the survey income, the income of freight drivers was about 3.5% higher than the social wage three years ago, and it will drop sharply by 2020, but it is 36.7% lower than the social wage.

The drivers surveyed said that the reasons for the decline in income are that the platform commission and VIP customer prices are increasing every year, and the second is that oil prices have been rising. Third, because the scale of urban transportation market can't keep up with the growth of platform drivers, the number of platform orders has been declining. Fourth, the proportion of long-distance big orders on the platform has been declining.

Second, the income of flexible employees on the e-commerce platform is contrary to the wage growth trend of e-commerce and social security.

While the scale of e-commerce has expanded rapidly and social wages have increased substantially, the income of flexible employees on e-commerce platforms has decreased year by year, becoming a major group with consumer demand but a serious shortage of consumption power.

According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, the average monthly salary of urban employees in China was 2065438+6868 yuan in 2008, 7542 yuan in 20 19 and 81/5 yuan in 2020. In 2020, it will increase by 18.2% compared with 20 18, with an average annual growth rate of 8.7%.

According to statistics, the national e-commerce turnover was 34.8 1 trillion yuan in 20 18, increased to 410.85 trillion yuan in 20 19, and reached 48.3 trillion yuan in 2020, with an average annual increase of 65,438 over 20 18.

However, in the past three years, the income of urban traffic drivers has decreased by 27.7%, with an average annual decrease of15%; The courier income decreased by 2 1.6%, with an average annual decrease of11.5%; The income of riders decreased by 8.5%, with an average annual decrease of 4.4%. Due to the superposition of rising oil prices, the income of urban traffic drivers has dropped significantly.

Third, the actual labor income of flexible employees on the e-commerce platform is more worrying than the figures we have seen.

According to the "20 19 National Professional Survey Report of Express Employees" issued by China Post Express, the daily working hours of express employees in China are about 10.5 hours.

Feng Xiangnan, capital university of economics and business, conducted a survey on selling riders in Beijing in July, 20 18: "The survey results show that 84% of take-away riders work more than 10 hours a day, and only 14% work 8 hours a day. In Beijing, the average working time of delivery staff is 1 1.4 hours.

Lv Xuanru of East China Normal University conducted a survey on some flexible employees in Shanghai from March 2065438 to June 2008 +2065 438 10. The working hours of these flexible employees are mostly concentrated in 8- 12 hours, with an average of more than 10 hours.

From 2065438+09 to July 2020, a team of Professor Zheng Guanghuai from School of Social Studies, Huazhong Normal University conducted an investigation on couriers and takeaways in Wuhan. The working hours of couriers and riders are concentrated in 8- 12 hours, all year round. The highest proportion is 10 hour.

Through the above investigation, we should find that the average daily working hours of this part of flexible employees who serve e-commerce are above 10 hours, which is basically 10X7 hours of hard work, and the monthly working hours exceed 75% of the legal employment time stipulated in the labor law. If this part of overtime pay is calculated, the average hourly wage of this flexible employee who is divided into e-commerce services is only about 34% of the usual social wage, which is lower than the hourly wage equivalent to the minimum wage in most cities.

While working long hours, these people generally have no social security and medical insurance. Among them, couriers, hitchhikers and drivers are more dangerous than ordinary jobs. It can be said that they are the hardest working people in this society, but they can only get the lowest labor remuneration in this society and can't enjoy the welfare assistance system in this society.

Fourth, why do e-commerce earn a lot of money, while the income of flexible employees who help e-commerce develop is getting lower and lower?

Everyone must be curious, why e-commerce is developing rapidly, and the capital behind e-commerce is earning a lot of money, while the flexible employees in the e-commerce ecosystem not only can't enjoy the dividends brought by the development of e-commerce industry, but their income is getting less and less?

First, all domestic e-commerce models have adopted a competitive strategy of providing a large number of subsidies and preferential prices to platform participants (sellers) and platform customers (buyers) in the early stage of development. On the one hand, they attract small merchants of Taobao, small merchants and riders of Meituan, drivers of Didi and Lala to settle in the platform with high income, on the other hand, they attract platform users with low prices, thus promoting the rapid expansion of the platform scale. When the platform reaches a certain scale and has a certain voice, the platform will gradually withdraw from the subsidy policy, gradually reduce the income of small merchants, drivers and riders on the platform through revenue sharing and VIP purchase, and only keep the low-price strategy to participate in the competition, thus leading to the gradual reduction or even loss of the income of platform participants. However, because the platform is in a dominant position in the market and controls the monopoly market share, once the seller withdraws from the platform due to the decrease in income, he will face the dilemma of unemployment and have no choice but to passively accept the reality.

Second, because of the macroeconomic depression in recent years, the development of all walks of life is difficult, there are few new jobs, and a large number of small and micro enterprises have closed down. Bankrupt entrepreneurs, unemployed people and young people entering the job market are all lured to these e-commerce platforms by exaggerated advertisements on the platform. Some found that the income gap was large and changed careers. Some people find it difficult to find jobs, and they have to compromise in order to survive. According to the recruitment data of a joint company, the turnover rate of take-away riders reaches 50%, and those who leave within three months reach 70%. The turnover rate of couriers is also around 30%, and the turnover rate in three months has reached 42%. Since delivery and express delivery are so profitable, why is the turnover rate so high? As a result, advertisements involving the e-commerce industry with a monthly income of 10,000 yuan look beautiful, but they are actually out of reach. Don't be fooled by this recruitment information.

Third, because in other countries, workers in various industries have trade associations to participate in collective wage negotiations with employers, but domestic employees in emerging industries such as e-commerce have neither official trade unions nor other organizations to represent their interests. Tens of millions of employees, like grains of sand, naturally cannot control the exploitation of capital.

Fourth, the e-commerce platform uses loopholes in the labor law and social security laws and regulations to avoid the labor contract relationship with these tens of millions of employees, making it impossible for these workers to use the law to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.

According to the calculation of National Engineering Laboratory of E-commerce Transaction Technology and China Internet Economic Research Institute of Central University of Finance and Economics, due to the low entry threshold, e-commerce related industries have attracted a large number of small and micro enterprise investors who failed to start their own businesses, unemployed people from closed and shrinking enterprises and young people who entered the job market. The number of e-commerce employees in China was about 42.5 million in 20 17, about 47 million in 20 18 and over 5 1 10,000 in 20 19. Together with couriers, in 2020, there will be nearly 60 million flexible employees in the e-commerce industry and express delivery employees relying on e-commerce, accounting for nearly one-third of the 200 million people (freelancers) in the country.

In fact, the income of this large number of labor groups is decreasing year by year, which is contrary to the trend of increasing the national average income year by year. E-commerce is indeed the chief culprit of flat consumption and involution in China.

Our main policy next year is to increase income, stimulate domestic demand and promote consumption. Relevant departments in China should pay close attention to the serious problem that the income of flexible employees serving e-commerce platforms deviates from the economic development trend. It is the key to stimulate domestic demand and expand consumption to quickly formulate relevant laws and regulations, constrain e-commerce platforms, rationally distribute e-commerce development dividends, effectively ensure that the income of flexible employees on e-commerce platforms increases synchronously with the average income of the society, and effectively increase the income of these social bottom groups!