New Platform Workers Bill to Strengthen Protections for Platform Workers

New Platform Workers Bill to Strengthen Protections for Platform Workers

1. Platform Workers provide services that have become integral to the daily lives of Singaporeans. However, platform work can be precarious as Platform Workers are subject to risks such as uncertain earnings, traffic accidents and limited CPF savings for housing and retirement needs. Unlike self-employed persons, Platform Workers are subject to some degree of management control by Platform Operators and do not have full control of their employment circumstances and conditions. Hence, the Advisory Committee on Platform Workers which included tripartite partners has recommended to strengthen protections for Platform Workers.

2. The Ministry of Manpower will introduce the Platform Workers Bill 2024 to strengthen protections for Platform Workers in three areas -- namely housing and retirement adequacy through Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions by both Platform Operators and Workers, financial compensation if they get injured while working, as well as a legal framework for representation.

Defining Platform Operators and Platform Workers

3. The relationship between Platform Operators and Platform Workers is distinct from employment or freelancing. As such, the Bill creates a new category of workers in addition to employees and the self-employed. Singapore is one of the first countries to recognise Platform Workers as a distinct and separate group of workers, and enact specific legislation to protect their rights. Please refer toAnnex A for the definitions of Platform Operators and Platform Workers.

CPF Contribution for Housing and Retirement Adequacy

4. CPF contribution rates for Platform Workers and Platform Operators will be gradually increased to match that for employees and employers. With the CPF contributions from Platform Operators, Platform Workers will see an overall increase in their total earnings. These CPF contributions will go to Platform Workers' Ordinary, Special and MediSave Accounts on a monthly basis, and will help Platform Workers to achieve the same level of housing and retirement adequacy as employees who earn the same amount. The CPF contribution rates for Platform Workers and Platform Operators will be gradually increased over five years, by up to 2.5%-pt per year and up to 3.5%-pt per year respectively.

5. The increased CPF contributions will be mandatory for Platform Workers born on or after 1 January 1995. Younger Platform Workers have a greater need for CPF contributions because of housing needs and can benefit more from the compounding interest given their longer runway for accumulation. Older Platform Workers can choose to opt in to the increased CPF contributions if they wish to, as they may have existing plans to finance housing and retirement needs. Platform Workers can opt in via the CPF website from November 2024 and the decision is irreversible. Older Platform Workers who do not opt in will continue to be required to make CPF MediSave contributions, and will not receive the Platform Operator's share of CPF contributions. Platform Operators will deduct the CPF contributions from Platform Workers' earnings and transmit them to CPF Board monthly for all Platform Workers, including the MediSave contributions for those who do not opt in.6.We will enhance the Platform Workers CPF Transition Support (PCTS) to ease the impact on Platform Workers' take-home pay. Eligible lower-income Platform Workers who see an increase in their share of CPF contributions to the Ordinary and Special Accounts, will be supported through the enhanced PCTS. The enhanced PCTS will offset 100% of the Platform Worker's share of increase in CPF Ordinary and Special Account contributions in 2025. This means the Government will pay fully for the increase in Platform Workers' CPF contributions in 2025. The offset for 2026 will be increased to 75%, from the 50% offset earlier announced. Lower-income Platform Workers will continue to be supported through the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) Scheme. Please refer to Annex Bfor details on the computation and collection of CPF contributions, as well as Government's support for lower-income Platform Workers.

On-the-Job Protection through Work Injury Compensation (WIC)

7. Platform Workers are exposed to significant risks while working and bear the risk of getting injured on the job. To provide compensation to Platform Workers during their recuperation from work injuries, Platform Operators must provide their Platform Workers with WIC insurance at the same level of coverage as employees under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA). Platform Operators and Platform Workers will also have legal duties to play their part in preventing work-related safety incidents. Please refer to Annex C for details on when Platform Workers can claim for WIC, the types and computation of compensation, and amendments to the Workplace Safety and Health Act.

Legal Framework for Representation of Platform Workers

8. Today, trade unions can represent employees in negotiations with employers based on a legal framework where they must register and seek mandate to represent their employees. As Platform Workers are not employees, there is no legal framework for the representation of Platform Workers. To allow Platform Workers to organise and represent the interest of fellow Platform Workers, we will set up a legal representation framework for Platform Workers.

9. Under the new legal representation framework, Platform Work Associations (PWAs) will be able to represent Platform Workers in negotiations with Platform Operators, in a similar manner to how trade unions represent employees. MOM will appoint Registrars to regulate and oversee the activities by PWAs. A PWA must apply to the Registry of PWAs to be registered. Registered PWAs can represent Platform Workers and negotiate on their behalf if they obtain mandate to do so, either through recognition by a Platform Operator or a ballot among its members.

Application of Fixed Expense Deduction Amount for Work Injury Compensation and CPF contributions

10. To streamline processes for Work Injury Compensation (WIC) claims and CPF contributions, a Fixed Expense Deduction Amount (FEDA) will be applied to all Platform Workers' gross earnings to derive Platform Workers' net earnings (i.e. gross earnings minus the FEDA). The net earnings will be used to compute WIC quantum and CPF contributions. The FEDA depends on Platform Workers' mode of transport¹, and reflects expenses for the majority of Platform Workers. The application of the FEDA will remove the administrative hassle for Platform Workers and Platform Operators to manually track and compute Platform Workers' individual business expenses.

Implementation of Protections will Strengthen our Social Compact

11. The Platform Workers Bill is about strengthening our social compact, where everyone - Platform Operators, Platform Workers and consumers - plays a part to support the protections for Platform Workers. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will continue to work with Platform Operators and Workers to implement these protections from 1 January 2025.

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Annex A - Definitions of Platform Operators and Platform Workers
Platform Operators are companies that:
(a) Have an agreement with users to provide ride-hail or delivery services to the users;
(b) Use data to automate decision making relating to Platform Workers, in areas such as task assignment and how much Platform Workers are paid per task; and
(c) Impose rules, requirements or prohibitions on Platform Workers.

Platform Workers are workers who have an agreement with a Platform Operator to provide ride-hail or delivery services in Singapore to users for the Platform Operator and from this, derive any payment or benefit in kind. They are also subject to the control of Platform Operators, such as what tasks are assigned to them and how much they are paid. Platform Workers will be given an earnings slip that specifies their status as a Platform Worker.

Requirement for notification of Platform Operator status
(a) Companies must self-assess whether they are a Platform Operator and notify MOM if they assess themselves to be a Platform Operator. MOM will provide resources such as a checklist which will be published on MOM website for companies to self-assess if they are Platform Operators.
(b) Upon notification, the company will be added to a list of Platform Operators on MOM's website. Workers can refer to this list to ascertain whether they should receive Platform Worker protections.

Annex B - Computation and Collection of CPF contributions, and Government's support for lower-income Platform Workers
The computation of CPF contributions for Platform Operators and Platform Workers is designed to make the process seamless for both parties.

(A) Computation of CPF contributions
The Platform Operator's and Platform Worker's CPF contributions will be computed based on the Platform Worker's net earnings from that platform each month, subject to an annual earnings ceiling of $102,000 which also applies to employees.

(B) Collection of CPF contributions
Like employers, Platform Operators will contribute both the Platform Operator's and Platform Worker's share of contributions to CPF Board monthly. Platform Operators can recover the Platform Worker's share of contributions when making payments to the Platform Worker during the month. Platform Operators will deduct the Platform Worker's share of CPF contribution from Platform Workers' earnings as and when they earn. This will also apply for Platform Workers who do not opt in to increase CPF contributions, who will have their MediSave contributions deducted by Platform Operators.

Annex C - When Platform Workers can claim WIC, types and computation of compensation under WICA, and Amendments to Workplace Safety and Health Act

(A) When Platform Workers can claim
A Platform Worker can make a claim under WICA if the Platform Worker was injured while performing pick-up or delivery of passenger or goods.

(B) Types and computation of compensation under WICA
Platform Workers will have the same level of WIC coverage as employees, comprising: (i) reimbursement for medical expenses; (ii) income loss compensation for medical leave and hospitalisation leave; and (iii) lump-sum compensation for permanent incapacity or death.

Income loss compensation during medical or hospitalisation leave, and lump sum compensation for permanent incapacity or death will be based on the Platform Workers' net earnings from all the Platform Operators that they had worked for, in the platform sector in which the injury was sustained (i.e. ride-hail or delivery), over a lookback period of up to 90 calendar days before the date of accident. For Platform Workers whose earnings history is unavailable, income loss compensation will be computed based on a prescribed amount of $27 per day. This references the Local Qualifying Salary (LQS), so that Platform Workers are no worse off than workers on LQS.

(C) Determining compensation liability if the Platform Worker was injured while working for multiple Platform Operators
The Platform Operator which the Platform Worker was at work for at the point of injury will be responsible for compensation. If a Platform Worker was concurrently performing jobs for multiple Platform Operators (e.g. delivering multiple goods on behalf of several Platform Operators) at the point of injury, compensation liability may be apportioned across these Platform Operators.

If the Platform Worker was injured while performing both pick-up and delivery for multiple Platform Operators at the same time, the Platform Operator that the Platform Worker was delivering for will be responsible for compensation.

If the Platform Worker was injured while doing only pick-up or delivery for multiple Platform Operators, all the Platform Operators have responsibility to share compensation. Each Platform Operator's share of compensation will be based on the Platform Worker's earnings from each liable Platform Operator over the past 90 calendar days.

If the Platform Worker was injured while working in the ride-hail and delivery sectors at the same time, compensation will be based on the sector which the Platform Worker had higher earnings over the past 90 calendar days.

(D) Amendments to Workplace Safety and Health Act to complement WIC recommendations
Platform Operators and Platform Workers have responsibilities to prevent work-related incidents. As part of the Platform Worker Bill, there will be amendments to the Workplace Safety and Health Act (WSHA) to clarify Platform Operators' and Platform Workers' duties towards safe platform work.

To provide Platform Operators and Platform Workers with practical guidance to fulfil their duties under the WSHA, MOM and the Workplace Safety and Health Council are working with the industry to develop an Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) for Platform Services. The ACOP serves to establish baseline safety and health standards for platform services. A public consultation on the ACOP will be conducted from 4 September 2024 to 30 September 2024, to gather feedback on the proposed measures.