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Mr Speaker, the Finance Minister spoke on the need to develop deep capabilities and how our S’porean talent have been making their mark in various fields and how connecting with other highly skilled individuals from around the world have made us even stronger.
That has been most aptly portrayed by how our freelancers have contributed to the successful making of the Hollywood movie “Crazy Rich Asians”. They have also benefitted from collaborating with global talent. Finance Minister, freelancers have responded positively to your message on how the Government will help workers deepen capabilities and seek new opportunities.
I will touch on this in the first part of my speech and thereafter on the impact of diesel tax.
Concerns of Freelancers & Self-Employed Workers
Today, 1 in 10 workers are freelancers or self-employed. The emergence of digital platforms has created more options and easier access to alternative or additional source of income.
However, challenges cited by freelancers include loss of income due to prolonged illness or injury, training gaps and unclear contracts. The Tripartite Workgroup formed by the Ministry of Manpower has come up with recommendations to address them. Some ideas implemented have had good traction, but we can do more and do it faster.
A case in point is the formation of the National Instructors and Coaches Association. It was registered with the Registrar of Societies, and became an affiliate of the National Trades Union Congress just last month to represent the interests of freelancers who teach sports, enrichment and wellness.
Because every freelancer matters, the NTUC and NICA first piece of work is to collaborate with insurers to offer Prolonged Medical Leave insurance to instructors and coaches.
Income protection with Prolonged Medical Leave insurance
In fact, a member recently suffered an injury and was on medical leave for 2 months. The payout enabled him to receive income during his recuperation. However, not many have taken up such a policy as they fear losing out on bids if not everyone takes it up. This is one area where Government Procurement Entities can encourage freelance bidders to be protected.
In January this year, the National Private Hire Vehicles Association worked with ride-hailing operator, Grab to help their active drivers enjoy free PML coverage. Go Jek has also worked with us and has just announced an extensive earnings protection scheme for all its driver partners.
I hope all operators will do the same for all taxi and private hire drivers to be covered. To this end, I also appreciate the efforts by the MOM and LTA to engage these operators. It is action that will affirm their assertions that drivers’ interests matter to them.
Provide training support to deepen competencies
I feel that Budget 2019 is pro-worker with initiatives like the Global Ready Talent and Professional Conversion Programme to help workers with skills upgrading and to move into new growth areas.
Freelancers want to participate in these initiatives. They do not have easy access to courses and support. It can be extra daunting if they work in specialised fields where there are few local providers or experts. Typically, training is also self-funded. Potential loss of income when they attend classes also deter many from upgrading.
But, we have had some early success in providing training support to them. For example, the NTUC contextualised first aid courses for outdoor learning & adventure instructors. We also customised SkillsFuture for Digital Workplace training for taxi drivers and sports coaches. Masterclasses and workshops were also organised with freelancer associations. We hope to receive more help even as we intensify efforts to deepen their competencies.
We are glad that there are initiatives like those by the Infocomm Media Development Authority to develop the media sector skills framework. IMDA also provides Training Allowance to alleviate the loss of income when media freelancers attend approved training. I hope that other government agencies will quickly put in place skills frameworks and training allowance for freelancers in sectors under their purview.
We have also made progress in technical training for riggers and boot camps to equip new media freelancers on how to go about submitting quotations and training to deepen competencies. This also includes upstream efforts with the Ministry of Education’s Education and Career Guidance officers to co-curate sessions where youths in tertiary institutions get a clearer picture of what a freelance career entails.
Young freelancers shared that they want to be a part of the Global Ready Talent Programme. They too want opportunities to gain overseas working experience. We hope that the Ministry can consider partnering freelancer associations and the NTUC to send our young freelancers to key regional markets.
We also stand ready to select and prepare young workers from among unionised companies, especially those with leadership skills to gain such overseas exposure to better support our firms’ expansion plans.
Better work environment
Freelancers and self-employed persons are often frustrated by late or non-payment for work completed. Sometimes they have to deal with buyers exacting additional demands beyond the agreed scope of work. Usually disputes arise because the agreed terms are not documented and/or when the contract terms are vague.
The MOM recently reported that 500 companies have adopted the Tripartite Standards when contracting with Self-Employed Persons. I am glad our joint efforts have seen some take-ups. The Standards helps and Minister, I also want to applaud your MOF team in getting all Government Procurement Entities to adopt the Standards. Let’s encourage more to do so especially recipients of transformation efforts supported by the Enterprise Singapore’s Enterprise Development Grant.
I would also like to thank your team for guiding freelancers to navigate the Government procurement procedures. We will next co-produce a brochure with information on procurement procedures and practices to guide freelancers on providing services to Government agencies.
Diesel Tax
The second part of my speech relates to the impact of diesel tax. Your announcement that diesel duty will be increased has caused much concern among taxi drivers.
Minister, taxi drivers wished that the Govt can provide more support to help them manage higher operating costs. While there is some rebate to cushion the impact, they need more assistance. The average cost increase even after the $850 rebate is about $3-4 per day as they use about 50 litres of fuel daily.
We have called upon taxi operators to help beyond just passing on this diesel rebate to drivers. In fact, they can help by reducing the daily vehicle rental of about $110-$120 and cutting pump prices operated by them. Unlike other businesses, taxi drivers drive whatever vehicles leased to them and they cannot pass on costs increases as fares can only be set by operators.
I urge the MOT and MOF look at taxi licence operators implementing positive outcomes for workers to form part of the licensing criteria. Perhaps, if operators are not keen on doing more, the Government can consider issuing fuel pump licensing rights to drivers’ union. We can then appoint the appropriate operator who will sell fuel at the right price to members and manage costs.
Conclusion
Minister, personal responsibility in making well-informed choices about contracting practices, protecting against contingencies and planning for future needs remain core principles for freelancers. Support from government in training and setting the tone for all buyers will be a huge boost.
I urge for business buyers and operators to also offer freelancers a fair and reasonable deal. That is the Budget outcome that will matter most to freelancers.
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