Platform workers to make CPF contributions, receive injury compensations in late 2024

Platform workers aged 30 and below will be required to make Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions in the later part of 2024.

This is one of the 12 recommendations proposed by the Advisory Committee on Platform Workers accepted by the Government, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced on Wednesday (Nov 23). 

These 12 recommendations will be progressively implemented in late 2024, with legislation changes to be made. 

The Advisory Committee was convened in Sep 2021 and focused on “strengthening protections for Platform Workers” in three areas: Ensuring adequate financial protection in case of work injury, improving housing and retirement adequacy, and enhancing representation.

Members of the Committee include its advisor, Senior Minister of State for Manpower, and Sustainability and the Environment Dr Koh Poh Koon and chairperson Ms Goh Swee Chen, who is also the chairperson of the Institute for Human Resource Professionals.

Platform Companies, including Grab Singapore and Foodpanda, will be required to “exert a significant level of management control” over their workers and provide them with “certain basic protections”. Platform Workers will not be classified as employees and remain as Self-Employed Persons.

Workers aged above 30 in the first year of implementation can also opt in to the full CPF contribution regime. 

The Government will work with Platform Companies to develop a mechanism to deduct CPF contributions from Platform Workers’ earnings as and when the Platform Workers receive their income, the report added.

To help Platform Workers accumulate significant CPF savings to meet basic housing and retirement needs, the increased CPF contributions will be phased in over five years and will change depending on major economic disruptions

Platform Companies will also have to provide the same scope and level of work injury compensation that employees are entitled to under the existing Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) to its workers.

This also includes providing work injury compensation insurance through the existing open and competitive insurance market.

The Platform Companies will be responsible for compensation of injuries sustained by its workers, based on the worker’s total earnings from the platform sector in which the injury was sustained.

Sector-specific definitions of when a worker is “at work” will also have to be determined by the companies.

Platform Workers will have the right to seek formal representation through the Tripartite Workgroup on Representation for Platform Workers (TWG), a new representation framework to be set up and designed for Platform Workers.

The implementation timeline will be adjusted depending on the economic situation, the Government added. 

Those who wish to see the Advisory Committee’s full report can do so here.