Home » Industrial relations » National industrial relations » China: unions set up at two large tech companies China: unions set up at two large tech companies Through . Published on 03 September 2021 à 12h55 - Update on 03 September 2021 à 12h55 Resources In what is a first for China’s tech sector, ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing and the country’s second-largest e-commerce platform JD.com have decided to encourage the establishment of unions at group level. Until now, unions have only had a presence at certain branches in the tech sector and at a local level, such as at another e-commerce giant Meituan as well as at Ele.me, the food-delivery company owned by Alibaba. Little information has been released so far, not least because, as Reuters reports, Didi’s union, announced at an internal forum in August, will initially be run by employees at its Beijing headquarters and will be guided by the government-backed All China Federation of Trade Unions. Union representatives have also reportedly been instructed not to speak to the media and not to identify themselves. At JD.com meanwhile, it emerged that a trade union had been established this week, after a report by a newspaper linked to the Beijing Federation of Trade Unions, which published pictures of the launch ceremony. JD.com confirmed the creation of the trade union, which it says will seek to coordinate action undertaken by existing unions set up at some of its local branches. Some analysts see the establishment of these national-level unions – initiated from above rather than by the employees themselves, and guided by government-backed unions – as a way for these large digital companies to deflect the criticism they regularly receive about the working conditions they provide, the lack of social security coverage and constant wage depreciation. In July, the All China Federation of Trade Unions announced guidelines for protecting the rights of gig economy workers, implying that trade unions could play a role. This has been on the table since at least April 2018 but has so far come to little. Need more info ? Contact mind's on-demand study service Which service do you want to contact :WritingCommercial serviceTechnical SupportFirst name Last name Organization Function email* Object of the message Your messageRGPD J’accepte la politique de confidentialité.CommentsThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Essentials Les dernières publications Supporting parenthood in the workplace: a win-win strategy Supporting employee carers: a CSR challenge Analyzes Les dernières publications Paternity leave: data observations from 41 countries EU: during H1 2022 five EU Member States have raised their minimum salary levels