Public divided on how to beef up labour rights for Singapore ride-hailing, delivery drivers

THE Singapore public supports stronger labour rights for platform workers by addressing their retirement and housing needs, work injury compensation and bargaining power, but is divided on how safeguards in these three areas should be set up.

Some members of the public are concerned that the cost of implementing these rights may have an impact on workers' take home salaries and consumer prices, feedback collected by the advisory committee on platform workers showed. Platform workers include private-hire car, delivery and taxi drivers.

Earlier this month, platform workers shared their concerns with The Business Times, with many indicating they prioritised the flexibility of choosing when to work over the stability of an employment contract.

Despite the varying perspectives, "it is clear that all stakeholders want to build a more sustainable ecosystem of support for platform workers," said Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Health and Manpower and advisor to the advisory committee on platform workers, in a Facebook post on Thursday (Dec 30).

Last month, the committee invited the public to share their feedback on platform workers' rights and received over 1,300 submissions, including those from platform companies and workers. Koh shared a summary of the feedback in his post.

With regard to retirement and housing needs, some respondents want platform companies to make Central Provident Fund contributions for workers while others felt that workers themselves should bear responsibility.

Generally, respondents believe that platform companies should provide a baseline level of coverage for work injuries but views differ on whether this level should be the same as that for employees, or lower given that platform workers are not employees.

In Singapore, platform workers are not considered employees and have no contractual obligations to the companies they work for. As such, they are not entitled to annual leave, sick leave and CPF contributions.

The respondents of the public consultation are also supportive of improving labour relations and the working conditions of platform workers through better representation, said Koh. However, some prefer doing so through a union or independent body, and others want a less formal structure.

"There are no easy answers, but the Advisory Committee will study the options and work through the challenges with stakeholders," said Koh.

The advisory committee was set up by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in September to review and boost labour protection for platform workers.

According to MOM, in 2020, out of a pool of 190,000 individuals engaged in self-employment as their main source of income, some 79,000 individuals worked with matching platform companies.

About half of the 79,000 are private-hire car drivers and one-third are taxi drivers. The remainder are mainly car and light goods vehicle drivers performing delivery work.

The committee expects to complete its work by the second half of 2022 and intends to share more updates in the upcoming months.

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