Food delivery workers in several major cities across China have reportedly taken strike action in response to cuts in pay and the oppressive demands placed on them by the major online platforms.

The number of active worker protests in China is declining, and the space for resistance on social media is shrinking, but workers are still finding new ways to express their discontent.

A group of Meituan food delivery workers in the northern city of Weinan staged a symbolic protest last month, reportedly over their onerous working conditions and the fact that, even though they are not technically Meituan employees, they still have to wear the company uniform and essentially act as brand ambassadors.

The announcement on 31 May that married couples in China can now have three children has been dismissed and even derided by many workers who cannot afford to get married or are struggling to raise one child on meagre salaries.

The Shenzhen government is in the process of amending its Employee Wage Payment Regulations for the first time since they were introduced 17 years ago.