THE financial concerns of food delivery riders are very real - recent surveys show that many are anxious about contributing to the Central Provident Fund (CPF), Singapore's social security savings scheme, if they are reclassified as employees.

But arguing that riders should therefore be spared employee status and CPF is a red herring. The real question is about whether their wages are sufficient and fair to begin with.

On Tuesday (Mar 29), Grab, foodpanda and Deliveroo released a survey that polled some 4,200 riders. Over 60 per cent of them do not want CPF contributions to be deducted from their earnings. Some 21 per cent are open to deductions if it is less than a tenth of their income.