China Expands Occupational Injury Insurance to 30M Gig Workers
China has expanded its occupational injury insurance pilot program nationwide, extending social protection to nearly 30 million gig economy workers including ride-hailing drivers, food delivery riders, and couriers. The expansion, effective July 1, 2026, covers all 31 provinces and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, marking a significant step in addressing social security gaps in the country’s rapidly growing platform economy.
Context: The Social Security Gap
China’s platform economy has grown explosively over the past decade, with approximately 84 million workers in new forms of employment, according to the 9th National Survey of Workers’ Conditions. These workers — ride-hailing drivers, delivery riders, couriers, and other platform-mediated laborers — form the “capillaries” of China’s urban economy. However, traditional Chinese social insurance has historically been tied to formal labor relationships, leaving gig workers without a safety net if injured on the job.
Recognizing this gap, the central government launched a pilot occupational injury protection program on July 1, 2022, in seven provinces — Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Hainan, Chongqing, and Sichuan — covering seven major platform companies across three sectors: ride-hailing, instant delivery, and intra-city freight.
Key Developments: Nationwide Expansion
According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the pilot had cumulatively covered 29.902 million workers by the end of June 2026. As of July 1, the program expanded to all 31 provinces and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, with 14 new platform companies added to the coverage list.
The newly included platforms span the ride-hailing, instant delivery, and intra-city freight sectors, including T3 Chuxing, Huaxiaozhu Chuxing, Sunshine Chuxing, Meituan Dache, Xiaoxiang Chaoshi, Hema Fresh, Dingdong Maicai, and others. Under a “mature one, include one” principle, provinces are expected to bring smaller local platform companies into the program by the end of 2026.
How the Program Works
The program introduces several innovations that distinguish it from traditional social insurance. As reported by China News Service, it does not require a formal labor relationship between workers and platforms — a major departure from conventional Chinese labor law. Instead, it adopts a flexible per-order payment model where platforms pay premiums based on order volume, with workers bearing no cost.
Professor Wen Xiaoyi of the China Institute of Industrial Relations explained to China News Service that the program “breaks through the limitation of labor relations. Pilot regions generally no longer require a legal labor relationship as a prerequisite for coverage, expanding the scope of protection.” He noted that the flexible payment model “lowers the threshold for participation and better matches the work characteristics of flexible employment groups.”
Worker Impact: A Real Difference
For workers like Deng Yufa, a Huolala truck driver, the program has made a tangible difference. Deng was injured on the job in March 2025 when cargo fell on him during a delivery, requiring two surgeries costing 68,000 yuan out of pocket. “As truck drivers, once injured, we not only face medical treatment costs but also cannot earn money from hauling. During recovery, supporting the whole family becomes a problem,” Deng told China News Service.
With assistance from Huolala, Deng successfully applied for the new occupational injury insurance, receiving reimbursement for his medical expenses and a disability compensation payment of over 60,000 yuan. “With the ‘new occupational injury insurance,’ we feel much more secure. If there’s an accident, we don’t have to empty our pockets,” he said.
Huolala, one of the first pilot platforms, has invested 234 million RMB over four years, covering 1.23 billion orders and 2.8 million drivers. The platform has assisted over 2,800 drivers in filing claims, with the highest single case payout exceeding 1.15 million RMB.
Analysis: Policy Significance
The nationwide expansion represents a landmark development in China’s social security system. By decoupling injury protection from formal labor relationships, the policy acknowledges the structural transformation of China’s labor market and adapts social protections to the realities of the platform economy.
Professor Wen emphasized the broader social impact: “When workers receive timely and reasonable compensation and assistance after being injured at work, it greatly enhances their trust and sense of dignity in their occupation. It also ensures that workers and their families do not fall into severe financial hardship when facing sudden injuries, strengthening the risk-resistance capacity and development resilience of new forms of employment.”
International Context
China’s approach is notable for its scale and speed. While other countries have grappled with gig worker classification — such as Proposition 22 in California and the EU platform work directive — China has bypassed the classification debate by creating a separate injury protection mechanism that does not require formal employment status. The Straits Times has reported that China also studied Singapore’s approach to gig worker benefits during the policy’s development.
What’s Next
Looking ahead, provinces are expected to continue incorporating smaller local platforms under the “mature one, include one” principle throughout 2026. Questions remain about how the program will handle workers operating across multiple platforms simultaneously, and whether the framework could eventually be extended to cover other social insurance components such as pensions and medical insurance for gig workers. For now, the expansion provides a critical safety net for tens of millions of workers who previously had none.