On November 9, the tenth lecture of the "2021 Series of Lectures on Global Labor Market Flexibilization and Digital Economy Employment Regulation", hosted by the CULR and co-organized by the Labor Relations Branch of Chinese Association of Human Resource Development, was held online. Associate Professor William Chiaromonte from the Law School of the University of Florence in Italy was invited as the main guest speaker to deliver a presentation titled "Challenges Faced by Platform Work and Labor Law: the Italian Perspective". Professor Fu Deyin, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of the CULR, and Professor Feng Xiliang, President of the Labor Relations Branch of Chinese Association of Human Resource Development, attended the lecture, with over 140 experts, scholars, and students from inside and outside the CULR attending online.

President Fu Deyin expressed sincere gratitude to Professor William Chiaromonte for his outstanding lecture, highlighting its high academic and professional caliber and its significant inspirational value. He expressed hope that the signing of a cooperation agreement between the two universities would serve as a new beginning to further deepen cooperation and exchanges, leading to mutual development.

During the lecture, Professor William Chiaromonte highlighted that the digital economy has significantly transformed traditional production and consumption patterns, as well as labor conditions and related systems. He noted that current research on platform work in Italy primarily focuses on the food delivery industry, with relatively little attention given to other sectors. Professor Chiaromonte analyzed the industry distribution, educational background, age distribution, and gender distribution of platform workers in Italy, concentrating on the widely discussed food delivery industry and its riders. He observed that although platform work has introduced many changes in production methods, working hours and locations, and management techniques, it has not improved the status of workers or the protection of labor rights. Using typical cases from food delivery platforms such as Foodora, Glovo, and Deliveroo, he analyzed the differences between dependent labor and self-employed labor from the perspective of Italian labor law. He proposed two new legal forms of work: "continuous and collaborative cooperation" and "cooperation organized by the entrusting party," and advocated for the signing of collective contracts between platforms and riders. By interpreting Italian laws and regulations on protecting the health and safety of food delivery riders, setting minimum wages, and prohibiting algorithmic discrimination and exploitation, Professor Chiaromonte suggested that as platform employment grows, platforms should enhance dialogue with platform workers through various communication mechanisms to improve their working conditions. He emphasized that trade unions should fully leverage collective negotiation to safeguard workers' rights and promote the healthy development of the platform economy.

During the discussion session, Professor Shen Jianfeng, President of the Law School at the CULR, highlighted that according to incomplete statistics, the number of new format workers in China had exceeded 84 million. He emphasized the importance of objectively analyzing statistical data and focusing on the application of relevant labor and civil laws to safeguard the rights of new format workers, rather than being limited to the presence or absence of labor relations. Professor Shen elaborated on the legislative construction for new format workers who do not fully meet the criteria of traditional labor relations and the definition of platform entities' responsibilities. He made comparative analyses of the applicability of legal norms for platform workers in both countries. During the interactive session, the audience actively engaged with a variety of questions. Topics included the scope of application of Italian laws on "cooperation organized by the entrusting party" and "continuous and collaborative cooperation," the signing of collective contracts by riders and their informal unions, the protection of maternity rights for female food delivery riders, legal restrictions and practical obstacles faced by riders in forming trade unions, differences in protection between full-time and part-time platform workers, distinctions between personal information protection for food delivery platforms and general information subjects, algorithm monitoring on food delivery platforms, and the allocation of responsibilities in traffic accidents involving riders. These topics were thoroughly explored in-depth with Professor William Chiaromonte, creating a lively and highly engaging online interaction atmosphere.

The lecture marks the successful conclusion of the "2021 Series of Lectures on Global Labor Market Flexibilization and Digital Economy Employment Regulation" at the CULR. This year, we invited 10 experts and scholars from various countries and regions to give lectures, with 12 Chinese experts participating as hosts and reviewers. Nearly 2,000 people participated in listening and discussing, effectively promoting in-depth exchanges, comparisons, and mutual learning in the field of new employment formats between academia and practice globally. The series has been warmly welcomed and widely praised by domestic and international universities, academic institutions, experts, scholars, and students. It has played a positive role in showcasing and promoting China's achievements, plans, and experiences in safeguarding the rights and interests of workers in new employment formats. Additionally, it has significantly enhanced the CULR's influence and reputation in international academic exchanges.

William Chiaromonte, Associate Professor of Labor Law at the Law School of the University of Florence, Italy, and Vice-Chair of the Law Degree Program, teaches labor law and advanced labor law courses. He obtained a Master's degree in European Labor Studies from the University of Florence and the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium (2004) and a Ph.D. in European Social Law from the University of Macerata in Italy (2009). His paper on the labor and social rights of migrant workers won the Marco Biagi Foundation (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia) Marco Biagi Young Researchers Award, recognizing the best Italian doctoral dissertation in labor law (2010 edition). He is the editor-in-chief of the academic journal "Reports on Labor Law and Industrial Relations Law" and a member of the editorial board of "Social Security Law Restatement" and "Law, Immigration, and Citizenship".

(International Office of Cooperation and Exchange)