Singapore’s labour protection laws for ride-hailing and on-demand delivery workers will take effect from January 1, 2025. Meanwhile, the city-state has piloted a programme to dole out grants to businesses using blockchain technology.
Labour laws for platform workers from Jan 1, 2025
Singapore, which had previously announced labour laws to ensure the protection of platform workers, has said the new rules will kick in from January 1, 2025. The rules will apply to gig workers on platforms such as ride-hailing apps and on-demand delivery platforms.
Companies like Grab and Foodpanda must ensure that these workers receive injury compensation that is at par with regular employees. The rules also state that the employers must contribute to the Central Provident Fund (CPF) of these workers. The workers, too, will have to contribute to the fund.
The government will enhance its previously announced CPF transition support scheme for low-wage platform workers to ease them into making higher CPF contributions. The Platform Workers CPF Transition Support (PCTS) scheme, announced in Budget 2023, gives cash payouts on a monthly basis to low-wage platform workers—a move aimed at offseting a part of the higher CPF contributions they have to make.
Additionally, ride-hailing and delivery workers can be represented by bodies that will have powers similar to trade unions.
The city-state had 70,500 gig workers in 2023.
SG pilots government grants via blockchain
Singapore has taken a step closer to using blockchain technology to give government grants to businesses.
This project, started by the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA), roped in DBS Bank and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG).
Grants were given to 27 companies, but the amount was not disclosed. The money helped companies participate in international trade fairs and overseas business missions under an EnterpriseSG scheme. This scheme helps trade associations and chambers (TACs) cover some of the costs for these overseas missions and fairs.
The pilot project allows government agencies like EnterpriseSG and groups like SFA to set rules for giving out grants, including who receives them. These rules are written in smart contracts, which are digital agreements stored on blockchain. They execute automatically when the set conditions are met.
The DBS blockchain used in the pilot can only be accessed by authorised users. It is connected to the bank’s main payment system, so beneficiaries get the money directly in their bank accounts once the conditions are confirmed by the smart contracts.
