China has expanded its occupational injury insurance programme to cover more workers engaged in new forms of employment according to a news report by news agency Xinhua.
The ministry of human resources and social security said in a statement that the pilot programme was launched in July 2022 is now being expanded as more workers are engaged in new forms of employment.
Ten provincial-level regions and multiple platform companies in China, including ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, have been added to the trial programme, which already covers seven provincial-level regions and seven platform companies.
The statement said by 2026, the programme will be expanded to all provincial-level regions across the country and generally all platform companies in the ride-hailing, rapid delivery and intra-city freight sectors. By 2027, the initiative could include platform companies in other industries as well.
Currently the programme covers over 12.3m workers in the new forms of employment -- like delivery workers and ride-hailing drivers -- covered by occupational injury insurance, providing them with critical protections should they experience a severe mishap.