Platform workers in Singapore are to receive the same levels of work injury insurance and contributions as employees to the national Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings scheme after the Government accepted all 12 recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Platform Workers. Platform workers will continue to be treated as self-employed persons (SEPs).

Under the recommendations, both platform workers and companies will need to make CPF contributions at the same rate as employees and employers, as long as the worker is aged below 30 in the first year of implementation. Those aged 30 and above that year can choose to opt in to the full CPF regime. 

Singapore will ease the process by gradually increasing the CPF contribution rates over five years, until they hit the prevailing rates, which are currently at 20% of wages for workers and 17% for companies.

In addition, platform companies will be required to insure the workers to the same level that employees are covered under the Work Injury Compensation Act (Wica). The coverage will be based not just on earnings from a single platform, but all the platforms the worker serves in the sector.

The Government also accepted the advisory committee’s recommendation that platform workers are given the right to seek formal representation through a new framework designed for them. Existing associations will be able to register themselves through this new framework and seek the mandate to formally represent platform workers.

These workers are presently represented by three associations: the National Delivery Champions Association (NDCA), the National Taxi Association (NTA) and the National Private-Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA).

The changes will affect Singapore’s 73,200-strong pool of platform workers, comprising 30,600 private-hire car (PHC) drivers, 16,700 delivery workers and 26,300 taxi drivers. However, cabbies’ street-hail jobs will be excluded from the measures. More information on the recommendations can be found in the Advisory Committee’s report at  https://www.mom.gov.sg/-/media/mom/documents/press-releases/2022/strengthening-protections-for-platform-workers-report.pdf

The Advisory Committee on Platform Workers was convened in September 2021 to look into strengthening protections for Platform Workers in three areas of concern:

     a. Ensuring adequate financial protection in case of work injury
     b. Improving housing and retirement adequacy
     c. Enhancing representation

The Government says it will continue to work with Platform Workers and Platform Companies to implement the recommendations in a progressive manner from the later part of 2024 at the earliest, however, they will also exercise flexibility and adjust the implementation timeline if needed, depending on the economic situation.