Mr Speaker, I stand in support of the Bill, which seeks to give effect to the recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Platform Workers.
Platform workers, from our ride hailing drivers to our food delivery and package delivery riders, they play an essential role in point-to-point transportation, and in ensuring that food and goods reach our doorsteps promptly and in good condition. Well, we do want our cupcakes to come with the cream and toppings intact. However, their job often places them in dangerous situations that can compromise their safety and well-being.
My speech today will touch on the importance of ensuring that our platform workers are well and properly covered by insurance, and the need to ensure that they have good workplace safety and health outcomes.
Platform workers susceptible to work injuries but lack adequate insurance coverage
Sir, platform workers today lack an adequate insurance coverage.
According to the 2022 report by the Advisory Committee on Platform Workers, the typical coverage for death or total permanent disability of platform workers provided by the platform operators lies largely in the range of $10,000 to about $30,000. This pales in comparison to the limit of $289,000 for employees covered under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA).
I therefore fully support the Bill’s proposal to provide all platform workers with the same work injury compensation coverage as employees. In the event of an unfortunate accident, a food delivery rider working for a platform should not have to face poorer insurance outcomes than a comparable food delivery employee employed in-house by a restaurant. It is the right thing to do, and I am glad that we are removing this unfair and artificial distinction.
Beyond coverage by WICA while at work, we should recognise that many of our platform workers spend substantial periods of time on the road waiting for or travelling to destinations to seek their next job. To them, this is time spent at work. Yet, the definition of “workplace” under section 2 of WICA does not include such waiting or travelling periods. If platform workers get injured during such time, they will not be covered by WICA.
Sir, the International Labour Organisation’s position is that there should be recognition of some of the time that a worker spends on call. I urge the Ministry to consider including such waiting time under WICA in order to fully cover the range of work activities by a platform worker.
In addition to adequate insurance coverage, we must also move upstream to mitigate the risk of platform workers getting into an accident in the first place.
Road safety
Platform workers enjoy the ability to work in a flexible environment that best caters to their life’s circumstances. But this comes with some downsides. To earn a decent wage, they spend long hours, often on the roads, and sometimes in treacherous weather conditions.
One key concern for platform workers is road safety. The report by the Advisory Committee on Platform Workers found that, from January 2021 to October 2022, there were eight work-related traffic fatalities among platform workers. The SMS earlier also cited a 2022 study by the Institute of Policy Studies, which found that one in three food delivery workers have been in at least one accident that required medical attention. That same survey also found that around 44% of drivers reported worsening health levels since they started driving.
Sir, our platform workers want to be responsible road users. They want to earn a decent living and return home safely to their loved ones.
To enhance protection for platform workers, we need to implement measures that prioritise their safety and well-being. One such measure is to ensure that all delivery workers have access to proper training on road safety and the safe handling of packages to prevent injuries. Platform operators must also provide adequate safety equipment, such as reflective vests and helmets, to protect delivery workers while on the job.
More importantly, platform operators must not penalise platform workers for reporting work incidents such as road traffic accidents. Platform workers should be allowed to prioritise their own safety without having to fear that they would be subject to unfair disincentives or penalties.
Review incentive structures
Sir, I have been lobbying for more to be done to safeguard the safety and health of our platform workers since 2021. This includes the need to review incentive structures which may lead platform workers to rush to meet targets and risk getting into an accident. I therefore fully support the provisions in this Bill which make clear that platform operators have a duty to provide measures to safeguard the safety of platform workers who work for them.
I call on all platform operators to take concrete steps to mitigate the risks to the safety and health of their platform workers.
While I can understand that platform operators may not be in control of the physical environment that platform workers operate in, but operators can and should set policies that influence and drive platform workers’ behaviours. Operators must be required to ensure that the design of their rewards and incentives policies do not inadvertently induce platform workers towards unsafe behaviours such as driving long hours or rushing to complete jobs.
Sir, it is good that the Workplace Safety and Health Council is working with tripartite partners to establish an Approved Code of Practice for Platform Services. The code will address safety concerns in platform work and provide clarity on the reasonably practicable measures that operators can take to fulfil their WSH duties. However, the current draft Code still allows flexibility for platform operators to set incentive targets that may be unreasonable, and potentially unsafe. I therefore ask for the Code to codify what would be deemed as a safe incentive and rewards structure, so that operators do not set unrealistic incentive targets.
I also call on the tripartite workgroup to study the best practices in other countries, such as Australia, where a series of reforms passed earlier this year will allow employee-like workers in the gig economy to enjoy similar workplace protection as regular employees. According to news reports, Australia started on this journey after a spate of road fatalities involving gig workers, and the local government there is seeking to put in place minimum safety standards for gig workers. I am confident that there will be parallels from which we in Singapore can learn.
Merchants and consumers can do their part too
Sir, beyond what the Government and platform operators can do, we can all play a part in helping to keep our platform workers safe, as merchants and as consumers.
As consumers, we can be patient with our delivery workers when there are genuine reasons for delays. They are trying their best and many of them are braving weather conditions and obstacles to reach us in good time.
As ride-hailing customers, we should be upfront and declare when we have young children travelling with us. NTUC has received feedback from private hire car drivers that some customers do not declare when they have accompanying children below the age of 7. Only taxis can ferry such passengers without a child seat. So by failing to declare, it leads to a wasted trip for platform workers. The customer also feels frustrated, and it is an unpleasant experience for everyone involved.
And as merchants and senders, we can pack our food and our goods properly, and honestly declare to the platform the correct weight and the correct size of the item that we intend to send.
Conclusion
Sir, the work to improve the WSH outcomes for our platform workers will not end once this Bill passes Parliament. In fact, it signals the next mile in the Labour Movement’s effort to improve the lives of our brothers and sisters in the gig economy. The Labour Movement has, and will continue to, champion the interests of our platform workers. Because every platform worker matters, and we mean it.
Sir, I support the Bill.
