workers rights are not improving

My polish nationalist friend we meet again. Here you once again remain pushing falsehoods.

gig economy booming

Gig economy being actively cracked down on and regulated to the benefit of workers:

https://hrss.suzhou.gov.cn/jsszhrss/zxfgk/202405/9acd0c4465e24bfeab20419cab150233.shtml

https://ldjy.xizang.gov.cn/xwzx/cjyfzzc/202402/t20240226_404989.html

https://ipc.court.gov.cn/zh-cn/news/view-2849.html

https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/450651.html

https://fgk.chinatax.gov.cn/zcfgk/c100013/c5241790/content.html

https://chrm.mohrss.gov.cn/%E4%BA%BA%E7%A4%BE%E9%83%A8%E7%AD%89%E5%85%AD%E9%83%A8%E9%97%A8%E9%83%A8%E7%BD%B2%E5%8A%A0%E5%BC%BA%E6%96%B0%E5%B0%B1%E4%B8%9A%E5%BD%A2%E6%80%81%E5%8A%B3%E5%8A%A8%E7%BA%A0%E7%BA%B7%E4%B8%80%E7%AB%99/

https://chinajob.mohrss.gov.cn/h5/c/2024-11-13/418523.shtml

https://www.news.cn/politics/zywj/20260426/7f994e10f9f14810b899795970007a30/c.html

retirement going up

Misleading. Retirement age is being raised gradually over 15 years, while flexible early retirement up to 3 years early remains, delayed retirement requires agreement, special early-retirement protections are retained for hazardous/special work, and older-worker protections are being strengthened. Also, raising retirement from 50 to 55 for women and 60 to 63 for men over a period of 15 years, while life expectancy continues to rise and early-retirement options remain, is not the anti-worker gotcha you seem to think it is.

https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/tt/202409/t20240913_666042.shtml

https://chrm.mohrss.gov.cn/%E3%80%8A%E5%AE%9E%E6%96%BD%E5%BC%B9%E6%80%A7%E9%80%80%E4%BC%91%E5%88%B6%E5%BA%A6%E6%9A%82%E8%A1%8C%E5%8A%9E%E6%B3%95%E3%80%8B%E5%8F%91%E5%B8%83/

https://big5.www.gov.cn/gate/big5/www.gov.cn/zhengce/202409/content_6974508.htm

https://english.scio.gov.cn/chinavoices/2025-01/02/content_117641102.html

vacation being 5 days per decade of work experience

Misleading again. While it is true that paid annual leave is 5 days after 1-10 years, 10 days after 10-20 years, and 15 days after 20+ years, public holidays and rest days do not count against annual leave. This adds 13 days of leave off the bat. A more accurat set of numbers would be 18, 23, 28 which is an entirely reasonable amount of leave. (Plus a few extra for minority groups to celebrate our major holidays).

https://publicservices.hrss.tj.gov.cn/ecdomain/framework/zcydt/fbbafimfopkibboikmfajfanojgaanpa/fadgmmdgopkjbboikmfajfanojgaanpa.do?disp_template=ccnjmfhhefpibbodjemcncephdmpjlhn&fileid=1092&isfloat=1&kbms=1&moduleIDPage=fadgmmdgopkjbboikmfajfanojgaanpa&siteIDPage=zcydt

https://xzfg.moj.gov.cn/front/law/detail?LawID=1737

The 2025 consumption-boost plan also explicitly calls for strict implementation of paid annual leave, making paid annual leave enforcement a focus of supervision, protecting rest rights, and prohibiting illegal extension of working hours:

https://www.news.cn/politics/zywj/20250316/12731c57b4e547f99c55606d9950bebd/c.html

no practical sick leave

False. China has a statutory medical-treatment period for illness or non-work injury of 3 to 24 months depending on working years and years with the employer. During that period, sick-pay/disease-relief pay must be paid and cannot be below 80% of the local minimum wage. Employers also cannot simply dismiss workers during the prescribed medical period.

https://rsj.gz.gov.cn/zmhd/cjwt/ldbz/content/post_10319021.html

https://chinajob.mohrss.gov.cn/h5/c/2021-06-10/309418.shtml

https://www.gjxfj.gov.cn/gjxfj/xxgk/fgwj/flfg/webinfo/2016/03/1460585589931971.htm