The U FSE Short-term Relief Fund (STRF) will be extended until 31 March 2020 to give e-scooter delivery riders more time to apply for assistance following the e-scooter footpath ban.
NTUC’s U FSE (Freelancers and Self-Employed Unit), together with NTUC LearningHub (LHUB) and NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) shared the update on 9 January 2020.
The Labour Movement launched the STRF on 15 November 2019 to help riders in areas such as daily essentials and union membership. As of 6 January 2020, over 500 riders have signed up for it.
Riders who are still interested in applying for the STRF can proceed to NTUC Member's Hub at the NTUC Centre. They can also visit pop-up booths at various locations around Singapore and engage U FSE representatives to address their needs and concerns better. U FSE will post the locations of these booths on its website.
The Delivery Rider Kit initiative has also seen 146 delivery riders taking up training places since it was launched on 11 December 2019.
The Delivery Rider Kit is a curated training programme created by U FSE, e2i and LHUB. It aims to support e-scooter delivery riders in their transition towards other transportation modes, such as power-assisted bicycles (PABs).
According to e2i, 168 affected food delivery riders have approached it for employment and training assistance. Of the number, 32 are exploring new job opportunities, with four having been successfully placed in the logistics and food and beverage sectors.
E-scooters were banned from footpaths on 5 November 2019, with offenders facing fines of up to $2,000 and jail time of up to three months.
The Government put in place an advisory period until 31 December 2019 to allow e-scooter riders time to adjust, during which errant users were given warnings.
During the advisory period, some 6000 errant e-scooter riders were issued warnings, while some 27 errant riders have been caught since strict enforcement began on 1 January 2020.
