Think about the latest developments on the jobs front and the terms ‘freelancer’ and/or ‘freelancing’ will come to mind.
Speaking in an earlier Parliament sitting on 26 January 2016, NTUC Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) and Labour Member of Parliament Ang Hin Kee shared with the house how freelancers are fast becoming a distinct worker segment here in Singapore.
A Growing Segment
Official figures published by the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) Labour Force in Singapore 2015 survey, released on 28 January 2016, revealed that there are approximately 300,500 self-employed residents in Singapore. Of which, 169,500 of them are own account workers (freelancers), making up 7.9 per cent of employed residents here.
However, ASG Ang, who is also director of NTUC’s Freelancers and Self-Employed Unit (FSEU), believes that the actual numbers hover in the region of 200,000, with the figure expected to increase in coming years.
Who is a Freelancer?
By MOM’s definition, freelancers refer to persons who operate their own business or trade without employing any workers. They usually provide services to their clients and are free to negotiate their terms and benefits. NTUC’s FSEU added that freelancing also refers to an independent / ‘free agent’ way of making a living. As such, any trade/profession/job in which an individual could strike out on his own would have individuals who freelance for a living.
Freelancers work with their clients on what is called a Contract for Service. This is where an independent contractor, such as a self-employed person or vendor, is engaged for a fee to carry out an assignment or project for a client.
These arrangements are often short-term with specific deliverables. Any other terms and benefits can be negotiated between freelancer and client.
The Labour Movement for Freelancers
Reiterating the Labour Movement’s mission at the ‘Pioneering The Future Series’ forum organised by the EDB Society and The Straits Times on 26 February 2016, NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing highlighted the Labour Movement’s aim of taking care of all workers, including freelancers who may not have employer-employee work relationships.
Said ASG Ang: “We want to be able to be there for them, understand their issues and challenges. We’re forming a group of people to look into it and find solutions along the way. We want to engage them and understand them.”
He said that because of the unique way freelancers operate, the culture service buyers interact with freelancers may need to change to accommodate the needs of this group of workers. “How long and when do we achieve this depends on how pervasive freelancing is appearing and making its way up. It’s creeping up here in Singapore and perhaps, it’s timely to visit and discuss this matter and put into a frame how this will work,” he elaborated.
He also stressed the need to take a new approach towards looking after their needs.
“Using our previous know-how on industrial relations and employment laws may not be relevant to this group. We need new understanding and how to ask new questions. For freelancers, we’re only just starting to understand the environment and nature of their work.
“The key is to engage with them and find out how they would like to be helped. Asking the right questions will help us pin-point the specific problems. We want to avoid unintended consequences because we applied a solution and have gaps to plug,” he said.
He also hoped that the Labour Movement could give freelancers a voice.
“We want these groups of workers to have ownership. We want them to champion their cause, internalise the issues, face their problems and stand behind their solutions,” he said.
As the FSEU continues to explore, learn and better understand the needs of freelancers, there are plans for a freelancer festival in the later part of the year. Through sharing sessions by more experienced freelance professionals, issues like how new freelancers can get started, how-to resources, tips on practices to avoid, personal branding, positioning and pricing can be shared. In its essence, “this would also be an opportunity for networking amongst freelancers where they may even form collectives to work together on bigger projects,” explained ASG Ang.
