A spokesperson for US e-commerce giant Amazon said the company looks forward to continued collaboration with the Government under the new regulations.
With the onus on platform operators to deduct CPF contributions from workers’ earnings and send them to the CPF Board, DPIA said its members have dedicated significant efforts over the past few years to develop systems and workflows to enable this.
Similarly, ride-hailing company Tada said it has built systems to facilitate CPF contributions. It is also working with insurers to secure quotes for work injury compensation policies, but said there are challenges in getting the best rates.
Insurer Etiqa, which today underwrites the income-loss insurance policies for Gojek, Tada and ComfortDelGro drivers, said mandating work injury insurance coverage for all platform workers will allow insurers to set more affordable rates, as it increases the market size and potential for economies of scale.
The company said it is working with platform operators to conduct training sessions to help workers understand their insurance coverage. It is also engaging the authorities to ensure that the company’s processes, systems and insurance products adhere to the new regulations.
Insurer Singlife said it is working on issues such as the scale, pricing and coverage of its new policies for platform workers.
Singlife innovation and ecosystem head Varun Mittal noted that claim procedures may be more complicated because platform workers will need to be covered by all the platforms they work for, and the various platforms may be covered by different insurers.
The General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA) said those who wish to offer work injury compensation insurance policies for platform workers under the new law must first apply to the Manpower Ministry to be a designated insurer.
“Only policies that meet the compulsory terms specified in the regulations will be offered to platform operators,” GIA added.
Ms Sharon Foo, 49, who works in education, said she would be willing to pay 10 per cent to 15 per cent more for food delivery and ride-hailing trips if the money goes towards platform workers.
“They should be fairly treated and have basic protection and safety while on the road,” said Ms Foo, who uses food delivery apps once or twice a month, and spends about $30 on each order.
Student Naajidh Salih, 23, also said he is prepared to pay more for food delivery so workers have greater financial stability. “It’s fair for us to pay to help them out. But, ultimately, it should still be a 50-50 situation, where the companies help them out as well,” he added.
In contrast, accountant Tan Lay Choo, 52, said ride hailing is already expensive, and she is not willing to pay more for it. If platforms raise prices as a result of the new law, she said she would stop using their apps altogether.
Ms Kang Yunjie, 28, said she would be able to tolerate a price increase of a few cents, but would reconsider her use of delivery and ride-hailing apps if the price hike was more than a dollar.
National University of Singapore labour economist Kelvin Seah said price sensitivity among consumers may limit the ability of platform operators to pass on the higher business costs. He noted that the bigger, more well-resourced operators would be able to better weather the cost increase.
Associate Professor Terence Ho of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy said platform companies should continue innovating to stay competitive in terms of cost. He said business models in the sector may also continue to evolve, though sometimes in ways that are not fully anticipated.
“The question is whether the aims of worker protection are still met, or whether changes to business models undercut the intent of the law. If it is the latter, then the rules would need to be updated to plug loopholes and restore the law’s effectiveness,” he added.
Institute of Policy Studies principal research fellow Mathew Mathews, who has been studying platform worker issues for several years, said his hope is that the mandatory CPF contributions for younger cohorts will prompt them to consider carefully whether to choose platform work as a career.
“For quite a few of the young platform workers we have studied, a major draw was the better income they could keep,” Dr Mathews said.
“With the new requirements, it will be clearer to this group that they would not have more disposable income because of platform work, and thus should consider regular work opportunities, which have longer-term progression options,” he added.
Former president Halimah Yacob, who had served as deputy secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress, said platform work has greatly distorted the price of goods and services here.
“Up to now, platform workers are carrying all the risks and costs. As a society, this is not sustainable,” she wrote on Facebook on Sept 11.
She added: “The legislation is a good start, but it would have been easier to deem platform workers who fulfil certain conditions as employees, and are thus automatically covered by labour laws, social security protection and union representation. Some countries have already done this.”
- Additional reporting by Tay Hong Yi