Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower responded to debates in The Straits Times newspaper over the treatment of gig workers. One letter writer to the newspaper had raised concerns that gig economy workers were not able to make ends meet despite working all day and holding multiple jobs.

In its response, the agency said that over the last three years it has helped approximately 300 workers misclassified as self-employed persons to be paid due entitlements including overtime pay and Central Provident Fund contributions.

It also noted a Tripartite Workgroup set up by the government in 2017 to ensure self-employed persons had better support. In addition, the Singaporean Parliament last month approved a “contribute-as-you-earn” plan to help self-employed persons better save for their healthcare needs.

However, the ministry also reported the number of self-employed persons in Singapore declined between 2018 and 2017 as the labour market improved. Their share of the resident workforce has remained stable at 8% to 10% over the past decade.

The full response is available online.

One note: The term gig economy can have different definitions. The gig economy is often referred to as being only on-demand work platforms such Uber or Upwork. Other definitions are more broad; Staffing Industry Analysts defines the gig economy as the entire contingent workforce including temporary agency workers, independent contractors and others.