Platform worker protections to be unveiled  next week could include new worker category, CPF

THE advisory committee tasked with reviewing job protections for platform workers – which include cabbies and on-demand riders and drivers – will release its recommendations next week.

This could include a separate classification for platform workers, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon told reporters on Tuesday (Nov 15), on the sidelines of a dialogue about the committee’s work.

Platform workers are not like typical self-employed persons, given that companies exert a level of control over them, creating the need for basic protections. However, the committee also took into account that flexibility is “a very key characteristic” of the platform economy.

“With that in mind, we are looking at possibly classifying these workers as a separate category, somewhere in between a full employee and a fully self-employed person,” said Dr Koh, who is an adviser to the committee.

In addition, contributions to the Central Provident Fund (CPF) scheme could be on the cards. At present, platform workers are only required to contribute to their Medisave accounts as self-employed persons, while the platform companies do not have to make contributions.

“Our recommendation is that (platform) workers should also have access to CPF, which is Singapore’s proposition for retirement and housing adequacy,” said the committee’s chairperson Goh Swee Chen. She added that the committee is recommending a “step up to the next level” to look into contributions to the Ordinary Account and Special Account.

However, Goh also noted that different groups of platform workers may have different needs, such as in building up savings in their CPF accounts.

“One of the considerations that we’ve taken into account, as a result of feedback from the companies and the workers themselves, is to consider where the need is greatest, because not all workers have the same needs in terms of retirement and housing adequacy.

“Some already have homes, some have homes that are fully paid up. So our thinking then is where the need is most, it would be mandated... We could consider CPF as voluntary in certain categories of workers,” she said.

SEE ALSO

Recession risk raises urgency to grant gig workers CPF, full benefits

To ensure sufficient flexibility in the recommendations, the committee will consider differentiating treatment of platform workers based on their income, hours worked or even age. 

Work injury compensation is another critical need. Dr Koh noted that “a life is a life and a limb is a limb” and not worth less just because one is a platform worker.

As part of the dialogue held at Our Tampines Hub, Goh and Dr Koh spoke on a panel moderated by The Business Times deputy news editor Michelle Low. The other panellists were the committee’s vice-chairperson Professor Danny Quah, executive director of Singapore National Employers Federation Sim Gim Guan, and Yeo Wan Ling, adviser to the National Taxi Association and National Private Hire Vehicles Association.

The committee, which was formed after last year’s National Day Rally, has been studying how to strengthen platform worker protections on three fronts: work injury compensation, housing and retirement adequacy, and collective representation.

In July, Dr Koh said that the committee was looking into whether platform workers could benefit from the Work Injury Compensation Act, which allows employees to make claims for work-related injuries.

Many are also keenly watching if the government will introduce mandatory CPF contributions and union representation for platform workers.

While further details on the upcoming recommendations were not disclosed on Tuesday, Prof Quah said that the measures will be implemented in phases to prevent a shock to the industry.

“There should not be a short, sharp shock to the system that threatens the sustainability and viability of the industry or the livelihoods of the workers,” said the professor of economics at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

As part of its work, the committee reached out to over 20,000 platform workers, 20 platform companies and industry associations, and close to 2,700 platform users.

The release of the recommendations could kickstart legislative changes, especially where CPF is concerned.

Asked how long the implementation of the protections could take, Dr Koh said: “It is still probably too early, because we still need to take the recommendations and then distil (them) into workstreams by the various parties. But I would say, even in a typical legislative process to craft a new law, for example, it will take at least close to a year.”

In an emailed statement after the dialogue, the Digital Platforms Industry Association (DPIA), which represents Grab, foodpanda and Deliveroo, noted that the recommendations could have negative impacts.

“We recognise that as the recommendations are gradually implemented, they will inevitably impact costs which may affect rider earnings and consumer prices. A recurring concern that we have been hearing from our rider partners is the potential drop in take-home earnings from them having to contribute to CPF, and whether gig work can continue to be a viable source of income for them and their family,” the DPIA said.

To mitigate the impact of additional costs on rider earnings, DPIA members will work with the committee to look into a “viable timeline” for implementation, so that gig work is still sustainable.