Singapore’s Gig Workers Appeal to Government for More Protection

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore's ride-hailing and food-delivery drivers are calling for more government protection to meet retirement and housing needs, underscoring a potential shift in the way the city-state's policies may evolve to better safeguard gig workers.

More than half of the 1,200 workers surveyed voiced concerns about their national pension plan, and 55% of those people supported the idea that companies like Grab Holdings Ltd. should make mandatory contributions to their retirement funds, senior minister of state for health and manpower Koh Poh Koon said in Parliament on Tuesday. He cited statistics from a public consultation that was started last year over who does -- and who doesn't -- count as an employee when it comes to benefits and protections.

Singapore runs a mandatory social security savings scheme funded by contributions from employers and employees. People can use these savings, which are part of their Central Provident Fund, to buy houses or offset hospital bills. Platform workers -- comprising about 3%, or 79,000 people, of Singapore's resident workforce -- are typically not covered under the mandatory plan.

“Platform companies already contribute CPF for their management executives and administrative staff today,” Koh said. Gig workers “asked a question: As the ones who are bringing in revenue for the companies and risking themselves on the roads, why are they not given some of these basic things that employees working for the companies in the office also enjoy?”

He pointed out that most workers who depend on platform work as their main source of income were residents 50 and over, while delivery workers were younger, with the majority below 40 years of age.

Like governments around the world, Singapore is considering legislative changes to protect gig-economy workers. Ride-hailing and food-delivery companies like Grab, Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda and Deliveroo Plc. -- which are built on the labor of these low-wage contract workers -- have flourished during the pandemic but also exacerbated social inequities.

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From the U.S. to Europe to China, these internet business models have drawn criticism for effectively taking advantage of labor arbitrage. Companies get the advantages of having people who work for them without taking on the traditional responsibilities of a corporate employer.

“Singaporeans have called for more to be done for this group of precarious workers. These are often forgotten heroes during the pandemic,” said Koh. “The committee aims to provide practical and sustainable recommendations and is considering an appropriate phasing period for the industry to adjust.”