Grab to set aside S$4 million for driver and rider benefits
It will also sponsor six months of association memberships for new member sign-ups
GRAB is setting aside S$4 million a year for driver and rider medical and health benefits. GrabBenefits 2.0, it announced on Thursday (Oct 3), is an enhancement of earlier benefits, such as insurance and income assistance for prolonged medical leave.
The new benefits include subsidised medical consultations for two visits a year and free annual flu vaccinations for the top two tiers, Sapphire and Diamond, of Grab’s driver and rider partners.
Complimentary wellness services will be offered via a GrabBenefits Partner Welfare Van, which will shuttle between neighbourhoods where drivers and riders gather. Free massages will be available to drivers and riders at least once a quarter, and is open to all tiers. Grab will also sponsor six months of association memberships for new member sign-ups as part of the new programme.
Ng Chee Meng, NTUC secretary-general, said: “It is encouraging to see Grab taking our associations’ and workers’ feedback seriously. This shows that when platform operators and workers’ associations come together, we can make meaningful progress.”
These new benefits will be available to Grab drivers and riders from Jan 1, 2025.
The programme is meant to be complementary to the recently enacted Platform Workers Bill.
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Platform workers will have the same levels of work-injury compensation and Central Provident Fund contributions as regular employees, with increments gradually stepped up from Jan 1, 2025.
GrabBenefits 2.0 was based on feedback gathered from Grab’s driver and riders, whose key concerns were rising medicine costs, reducing downtime due to illness and addressing physical ailments not covered by doctor visits.
The S$4 million set aside for GrabBenefits 2.0 will be reviewed yearly and adjusted for sustainability.
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“Our enhanced benefits, together with the new regulatory protections, will offer a holistic end-to-end care package for partners that covers both their immediate and long-term needs,” said Yee Wee Tang, managing director, Grab Singapore.
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