Under the new legislation, platform workers’ wages will increase by up to 17% through CPF contributions from platform operators. Platform workers will be covered under the Work Injury Compensation Act as well.
NTUC Platform Work Associations will be legally empowered to do more for platform workers, and will continue to champion platform workers’ rights for better wages, welfare, and work prospects.
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) today announced it will form new Platform Work Associations (PWAs) to enhance representation for platform workers and protect their livelihoods, when the Platform Workers Bill is enacted. This is a continuation of NTUC's efforts to champion platform workers' rights for better wages, welfare and work prospects.
Under existing laws, platform workers are not recognised as employees. As such, they are not allowed to form unions to protect their interests. Nonetheless, NTUC understood the critical gap in worker representation and formed the National Taxi Association (NTA), National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA), and National Delivery Champions Association (NDCA) to champion platform workers’ interests.
NTUC has long championed for better wages, welfare and work prospects for platform workers
NTUC has been at the forefront of advocating for the wages, welfare and work prospects of platform workers. In particular, NTUC has consistently called for more financial support for platform workers’ retirement planning and housing needs, measures to ensure their safety and well-being at work, and structured representation of their interests.
To ensure the long-term financial security of platform workers, NTUC had called for the Government to provide more financial support to aid with their retirement needs and housing support. Under the platform workers law, CPF contribution rates for platform workers and Platform Operators will gradually match that of salaried employees. For platform workers aged 60 and below, the Platform Operator CPF contribution rates will increase gradually from 3.5% in January 2025 to 17% in January 2029.
Recognising that platform workers may have concerns about their take-home pay with the increase in CPF contributions, NTUC had also advocated for support to help cushion the impact on lower-income platform workers. The Government responded by announcing the enhanced Platform Workers CPF Transition Support (PCTS) on 22 August 2024.
Under the enhanced PCTS scheme , the Government will fully cover the increase in CPF contributions for platform workers earning up to $3,000 in net monthly income in 2025. These platform workers will also remain eligible for Workfare Income Supplement Scheme (WIS) payments. As an illustration, a 35-year-old platform worker earning $3,000 in net monthly income who opted in to contribute to his CPF savings will receive $2,250 from the Government over the four-year period (2025-2028) of the PCTS to offset part of the increase in CPF contributions. He will also receive $18,720 in CPF contributions from the Platform Operator over a five-year period (2025-2029). Including WIS payments, the platform worker will receive a total of $23,830 in additional cash and CPF savings for his work from 2025 to 2029. For detailed illustrations, please refer to Annex A.
To ensure their safety and well-being at work, NTUC had called for enhanced safeguards to protect platform workers from the risks associated with the nature of their job, which requires them to be constantly on the road to complete their deliveries and ferry passengers. Safeguards that NTUC had called for include more work injury protection. The platform workers law will provide better workplace safety and well-being protection, as well as accord platform workers the same level of work injury compensation as employees.
NTUC had also advocated for the ability to legally represent platform workers. With the legal mandate to represent platform workers, the NTA, NPHVA, and NDCA will be empowered to address issues such as fairer payment terms with Platform Operators. The Government has responded by introducing the Platform Workers Bill in Parliament in August which, when passed, will allow for the formation of new Platform Work Associations with more legal backing.
NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng said, "NTUC has long championed better wages, welfare and work prospects for platform workers. We have been listening to their concerns and taking action to help them. The new platform workers law will reinforce our efforts to safeguard platform workers’ livelihoods, and empower us to legally represent the areas that matter a lot to them, such as wages, safety and well-being at work. NTUC is committed to making sure platform workers’ interests are protected, because Every Worker Matters. We encourage platform workers to join us so that we can be your voice and work hand-in-hand for a better tomorrow.”
New PWAs will leverage existing NTUC-affiliated associations’ efforts
To better support platform workers, the new PWAs will build upon and expand NTA, NPHVA and NDCA’s existing efforts including:
• Providing financial assistance through initiatives like the NTUC Care Fund (Work Injury Relief), where eligible members can receive $250 worth of NTUC FairPrice vouchers within three days of successful application. Launched on 15 January 2024, the associations have assisted ~80 members as of July 2024, and the associations will continue to provide this financial assistance for members.
• Closer collaboration and negotiation with platform operators to address issues relating to fair work practices, guardrails for work safety etc.
For a list of initiatives by the Associations, see Annex B.
NTA President Ken Tan, NPHVA General Secretary Joseph Goh Say Sing, and NDCA General Secretary Ng Gan Poh said, “NTA, NPHVA and NDCA have been on the ground garnering feedback from platform workers and addressing their concerns and grievances directly with platform operators even before the Platform Workers Bill. The Government has heard us, recognised our efforts and wanted to do the same to help more platform workers improve their wages, welfare and work prospects. Once the new platform workers law is in effect, it will give our PWAs the legal mandate to officially represent platform workers. This means that we will be in a stronger position to speak up and negotiate better benefits and outcomes for them.”
