Tackling Labour Monopsony by Gig Platforms: The Anti-Monopoly Law as an Alternative Legal Approach to the Labour Law System in China

Abstract

Abstract In the gig economy, workers could be subject to exploitative and coercive practices by platforms and their stringent labour algorithms. Since gig workers are not defined as typical employees, the Chinese labour law system fails to adequately protect gig workers. Furthermore, the limited scope of labour law protection is also another reason for the ineffectiveness of the Chinese labour law system. Even if gig workers can be identified as employees, the regulation of labour algorithms is uncovered by the existing labour laws. Additionally, collective bargaining rights of gig workers may help but as explained in Section 4, they are still immature and collective barging practices are likely to violate the Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law. This article claims that the enforcement of the Anti-Monopoly Law can be an alternative approach to protecting gig workers as the gig platforms may constitute a labour monopsony. Therefore, anti-trust enforcement can step in and punish exploitative and coercive practices harming gig workers. However, there are limitations of the Anti-Monopoly Law in dealing with these practices and thereby the advantages of the Chinese labour law system regarding the protection of gig workers should still be taken seriously.