Ministry of Manpower statistics have shown that own account workers, better known as freelancers and self-employed individuals, now number over 200,000 in Singapore’s workforce.
To better represent the needs of this growing segment, NTUC’s Freelancers and Self-Employed Unit or U FSE was formed in March 2014.
“We wanted to gather their views and voices, understand their challenges, and give them a platform to turn to,” said U FSE Director Ang Hin Kee.
Elaborating on U FSE’s mission of co-creating viable and sustainable freelancing, Mr Ang said: “All freelancers who choose this vocation as a choice of career must have the same peace of mind that a salaried worker has.
This has to include being paid on time, what happens in the event of an injury, preparing for retirement, purchasing a home and medical needs.
To that end, U FSE has been working together with both freelancers and stakeholders such as service aggregators, buyers of freelance services and government regulatory bodies to advance the interests of this group of workers.
