On September 29th, the 2026 Meituan Labor Rules and Algorithm Consultation Symposium was held in Beijing. Representatives of frontline riders from all over the country and the Meituan platform held consultations on issues such as labor compensation, dispatch rules, rest and vacation, and labor protection, and signed the "2026 Meituan Labor Rules and Algorithm Negotiation Agreement" on site.

This meeting is held in accordance with the relevant requirements of the "Platform Labor Rules and Algorithm Negotiation Guidelines (Trial)". Under the guidance of the China Finance, Trade, Light Industry, Textile and Tobacco Workers' Union, the National Federation of Trade Unions' Rights and Interests Protection Department, and the Beijing Federation of Trade Unions, Meituan has for the first time established a full platform negotiation "representative library" and "issue library" this year. Nine representatives were democratically recommended by riders on site, and another 20 riders from Beijing and over 100 riders from 23 cloud venues across the country attended, covering 31 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government).

(The 2026 Meituan Labor Rules and Algorithm Consultation Symposium was held in Beijing. Image source: Zhang Xi)

Prior to the meeting, Meituan held provincial consultations in Liaoning, Chongqing, Beijing, Shandong and other places. There were more than 50 consultations at all levels across the country, and nearly 10000 opinions and demands were collected through channels such as the rider customer service hotline and rider app, forming a total of 120 agenda items. More than half of the opinions have been improved and implemented. After joint screening by riders, labor unions, and Meituan, 38 key issues were submitted for negotiation at the meeting.

The agreement specifies that Meituan will increase the billing weight for difficult to deliver orders such as overweight, bulky, and walking up and down stairs, and increase revenue rewards in special weather conditions; Continue to implement the 'Cancel Overdue Deduction' policy and continuously optimize mechanisms such as on route delivery, delivery time limits, and merchant meal time estimation; Gradually expand the pilot program of "red light stop meter"; Promote the implementation of pension insurance subsidy policies and reduce the burden of insurance participation for riders.

Recently, riders have been discussing 'waiting for the red light will correspondingly delay the order time', especially with several orders in hand. Everyone is very anxious and wants to ask when they can promote it to us, "said Wang Zhe, a delivery rider from Liaoning province. He hopes that the 'red light stop meter' can be promoted to his city as soon as possible. The relevant person in charge of the Meituan Rider Support Group responded that the platform has launched this function in some urban areas of Suzhou, Wuxi, Zhenjiang, and Beijing. Based on the rider's location, driving direction, and delivery trajectory, the actual waiting time is recognized, and the order delivery time is correspondingly postponed; More than 30 cities are currently evaluating the conditions for going live. Starting from 2022, Meituan has taken into account traffic light waiting factors when calculating delivery times, and will gradually expand its functional scope based on testing results.

For overweight orders, buildings without elevators and delivery in bad weather, Xizang rider Jiang Wangzedeng asked whether the subsidy and time compensation rules could be clearer. The person in charge of the Meituan Rider Support Group stated that the platform will increase the billing weight for heavy weight, large volume orders, and difficult to deliver orders such as walking up and down stairs, and increase income rewards in special weather conditions through methods such as high-temperature care funds; Continue to implement the 'Cancel Overdue Deduction' policy, optimize the points system and the on route delivery mechanism, and implement the pilot requirement of a 30 minute delivery time limit. The chief representative of the rider side asked about this topic and the platform's next plan for implementing the 30 minute delivery time limit. The person in charge of Meituan's rider support team stated that they are currently promoting "difficult delivery rewards", "exceptional exemption for difficult to fulfill orders", "smart solutions for difficult to enter communities", and increasing subsidies for "secondary delivery".

In response to the problem of slow delivery of meals by merchants affecting subsequent delivery, Beijing delivery rider Wang Shouqing suggests that the platform supervise merchants to "report meals more truthfully and accurately" and provide reasonable time for orders that wait for meals for a long time. The relevant person in charge of the Meituan Rider Support Group responded that the platform has supported merchants to report their completed meals through tools such as "Chupingbao", and then dispatch riders to the store to pick up their meals in the background; When the merchant confirms difficulty in ordering, subsequent orders can be converted to post order delivery. Riders can also report "slow delivery exception" on the app, choose to transfer or continue delivery, and receive corresponding time compensation. For delays caused by non rider reasons such as slow delivery of meals by merchants, the platform will exempt them from liability based on the verification of the declaration and continue to control false delivery behavior.

Social security related issues such as pension insurance subsidies are also a key concern for riders. The person in charge of the Meituan Rider Support Group introduced that in February 2025, Meituan will launch a pilot program for rider pension insurance; Starting from November of the same year, the subsidy covers the whole country and is open to all types of riders. Riders who meet the conditions can receive a subsidy of 50% of the relevant payment base.

In terms of occupational injury protection, China will launch a pilot program for occupational injury protection for new forms of employment personnel starting from July 2022. The pilot program will be expanded from 7 provinces to 17 provinces by July 2025, and will be fully implemented in 31 provinces and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps from July 1, 2026. Meituan fully pays occupational injury protection fees for riders nationwide in accordance with relevant regulations. According to Meituan data, as of the end of August 2026, the platform has paid a total of 3.6 billion yuan in occupational injury protection fees for approximately 19 million riders, achieving the goal of "ensuring coverage for every order and every person".

Representatives from the Central Department of Social Work, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Beijing Federation of Trade Unions, as well as experts and scholars, attended the meeting to provide guidance. Next, all parties will follow up on the implementation of the agreement and promote the conversion of rider opinions into specific rule improvements through regular communication and negotiation.