A proposal to protect gig workers will be released next week. likely to be considered for contribution to the CPF

SINGAPORE – A commission tasked with finding ways to better protect taxi drivers, private car drivers and freelance delivery workers will release its recommendations next week after more than a year of consultation and deliberation. is scheduled to be announced.

However, it will likely take a year or more before specific measures aimed at improving housing and retirement adequacy, workers compensation and representation of these workers are fully formulated. , Senior Labor Minister Ko Pho Khun said on Tuesday.

As a bystander to an interactive session held at Our Tampines Hub, Dr Koh, Advisor to the Advisory Board on Platform Workers, said he was reluctant to share details ahead of next week’s announcement, saying that the final fine-tuning is still being done. Based on Tuesday’s feedback.

But he said the commission is considering putting people who rely on online matching platforms for work into a separate category somewhere between full-time employees and fully self-employed. confirmed.

Goh Swee Cheng, chairman of the advisory committee, also strongly hinted that a donation to the Central Provident Fund (CPF) would be included in the proposal.

“Our recommendation is that (platform) workers should also have access to the CPF. , is to step up to the next level, which is regular and special accounts,” Goh said during the conversation Tuesday.

Savings from a savings account can be used for large expenses such as tuition and housing. When an eligible Singaporean turns 55, these savings, along with those from the special account, will be used to meet applicable retirement benefits.

Goh, who also chairs the Institute for Human Resource Professionals, said the advisory board will take into account the fact that not all platform workers have the same housing and retirement needs.

“Some already have homes, some have paid off. So our thinking is that it will be mandatory where the need is greatest. The CPF can be seen as voluntary,” she added.

As of 2020, there are approximately 79,000 platform workers here, accounting for 3% of Singapore’s resident workforce.

Regular employees contribute 20% of their wages to the CPF and employers contribute 17%, but neither platform workers nor platform companies are required to contribute to the CPF ordinary or special account.

Instead, self-employed people, including platform workers, are required to donate only about 8% to 10.5% of their income to the Medisave account for medical needs, and some platform companies have schemes matching these donations. offers.

An advisory panel set up by the Department of Labor in September 2021 has come up with ideas that platform workers should contribute more to the CPF to ensure they have enough savings for housing and retirement.

But the issue has been divisive, as demonstrated by the Policy Institute’s recent survey of 1,002 food delivery riders and the commission’s own involvement. didn’t.