Louis Chua on Platform Workers Bill

The gig economy has evolved in ways that increasingly disadvantaged platform workers and there is an urgent need for legislation to safeguard their welfare and rights, said MP Louis Chua. There remains much work to be done in three areas, he said in Parliament on Monday (Sep 9). The first relates to CPF contributions. Mr Chua asked if the Government is being “too lenient” with the platform companies in not getting them to better support their own platform workers and wanted to know if the CPF contributions from platform companies can be accelerated. He asked if the Government could mandate that they start contributing their full share of contributions immediately from January 2025. Secondly, he reiterated his call for a fair wage that is in line with minimum wage standards, saying it goes a long way in providing some degree of support in alleviating the income instability that platform workers face. Thirdly, he suggested forming an “algorithm committee” to give platform workers confidence that there is fairness and transparency in how the platforms operate.