Bill to implement stronger protections for platform workers tabled in Parliament

Cabbies, private-hire car drivers and delivery riders who rely on online matching platforms such as Grab and foodpanda for work are a step closer to gaining employee-like protections, after a new Bill was tabled in Parliament on Aug 6 to spell out these safeguards.

These proposed protections consist of a standardised work injury compensation regime, greater levels of contributions to the Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings scheme, and formal representation.

The target was for these new protections, announced in November 2022, to kick in some time in the second half of 2024.

The new draft law is a concrete step towards this, and paves the way for this group of workers, known collectively as platform workers, to be designated as a distinct category, separate from employees and the self-employed.

This is similar to the employment classification used in Britain, where an intermediate “worker” class enjoys some but not all the protections and entitlements of employees.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Aug 6 that the new Platform Workers Bill covers four key areas. The first is the scope of companies and workers that will be covered by the new legislation, if it is passed.

According to the Bill’s text, this will be limited to those providing delivery and ride-hailing services for now, and a key defining factor of a platform worker is whether he or she is subject to “management control” by the online platform.

Second, the Bill covers measures to support the housing and retirement adequacy of platform workers, MOM said, and this will entail amendments to the CPF Act.

Third, the Bill also makes provisions for work injury compensation, and strengthens the responsibilities of platform workers and operators to prevent injuries.

MOM said this will require amendments to the Work Injury Compensation Act (Wica) and the Workplace Safety and Health Act.

Finally, the Bill will create a legal framework for the representation of platform workers, with amendments to the Industrial Relations Act and the Trade Disputes Act.

According to MOM’s latest labour force report released in January, there were 70,500 platform workers in 2023, down from 88,400 in 2022 and 73,200 in 2021. These workers are self-employed and use online platforms to match themselves to delivery and transport jobs.

In 2021, then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he was “especially concerned” about this group of workers, whom he said had an employee-like relationship with platforms, but did not have the right to basic protections that regular employees enjoy.

These workers, he said at the National Day Rally that year, also find it harder to afford housing, healthcare and, eventually, retirement.

An advisory committee comprising government and industry players, as well as workers and those in academia, was set up and given the task of looking at ways to bolster protections for these workers. The Government accepted the committee’s recommendations in November 2022.

These included requiring platform companies to provide the same level of work injury insurance that employees get under Wica. Right now, insurance coverage for platform workers differs based on the platform they work for, and largely depends on the platform’s goodwill.

There are also plans to align the CPF contribution rates for platform workers and platform operators to those of regular employees and employers. These rates are 20 per cent for employees aged 55 and below, and 17 per cent for their employers.

The idea is for the mandatory contribution rates for platform workers to go up progressively over a five-year period. MOM has said the higher CPF payments will be compulsory only for those who are below 30 when the changes kick in, while others can choose to opt in. The Bill proposes that platform workers born on or after Jan 1, 1995, cannot opt out of higher CPF contributions.

At present, platform workers, like other self-employed people, are required to contribute up to 10.5 per cent of their net trade income to their CPF MediSave account, while platform companies are not obligated to chip in at all.

In July 2023, the Government also accepted recommendations from a separate tripartite work group that proposed a legal framework for platform workers to join representative bodies with powers similar to those of trade unions.

Under existing laws, platform workers cannot form unions as they are not recognised as employees. Instead, they are represented by three industry associations affiliated with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). These are the National Private Hire Vehicles Association, National Delivery Champions Association and National Taxi Association.

In a statement on Aug 6, NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng called the Platform Workers Bill “an important milestone”.

“Our associations would be able to negotiate collectively for them, better represent them in disputes, and provide them with better support services after the Bill is passed,” he said.

NTUC assistant secretary-general Yeo Wan Ling, who is the adviser to the three associations, said the proposals in MOM’s new Bill are consistent with the recommendations that the Government had accepted.

“The need to represent our platform workers has become even more important, given that many of them have brought up livelihood worries and the need for platform companies to be transparent,” she added.

Ms Yeo said the labour movement has gathered feedback about the roll-out of the proposed protections, including concerns among workers about fair and even work injury insurance coverage, if they were to work for multiple platforms.

These issues will be brought up at the Bill’s second reading, which the Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP believes “will be a robust debate”.

Details of the draft law will be debated at the next available sitting of Parliament.

Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

Platform Workers Bill (Bill 26 of 2024)

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