Author
Asst Prof Wenwen ding
Organisation/Institution
China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL)
Country
CHINA
Panel
Labor and Employment Law
Title
A Dual Regulatory Approach to the Labor Market: Coordinating Antitrust Law and Labor Law under the Platform Economy
Abstract
In recent years, the platform economy has expanded flexible work but also intensified labor market monopsony (employer buyer power). Platforms leverage data and algorithmic management to consolidate control over labor supply, depress wages, and heighten income and employment instability. Because many platform workers are classified as non standard or quasi independent, they fall outside core labor law protections; meanwhile, China’s antitrust regime—historically centered on goods and services markets—offers limited tools for abuses in labor markets, leaving a regulatory gap. This talk develops a theory driven account of how antitrust and labor law can be coordinated to address platform driven monopsony. I first map the respective functions and limits of the two regimes and the structural tension between competition policy (protecting rivalry and efficiency) and labor law (correcting bargaining asymmetries and safeguarding worker dignity). I then propose a “dual regulation” framework that (i) targets employer side restraints and abuses that suppress labor mobility and wages, and (ii) extends baseline protections and collective action space to platform workers. The integrated design aligns the intensity of antitrust intervention with the scope of labor law coverage, clarifies jurisdictional interfaces, and supports joint guidance and coordinated enforcement. The aim is not to substitute one body of law for the other, but to operationalize their complementarities so as to restore fair competition in labor markets while securing basic worker rights—thereby enabling the platform economy’s equitable and orderly development.
Biography
Wenwen Ding is an Assistant Professor at China University of Political Science and Law. Her research interests are labor and employment law.
