Global Trend: Regulating Platform Work

Singapore is the latest country to pass a law regulating platform workers (such as Uber drivers), joining the EU which passed its Platform Workers Directive earlier this year, and other countries, like Mexico, that are considering adopting similar measures. 

5 key elements of Singapore’s Platform Workers Act:

1. New worker category: Unlike the EU Directive which presumes that a platform worker is an employee unless the employer can prove otherwise, Singapore’s law creates a new worker category that falls between an employee and an independent contractor.

2. Union rights: Platform workers may form new representative bodies with similar legal powers with trade unions. 

3. Benefits: Platform operators are mandated to provide the same work injury insurance as regular employees.   

4. Social: Platform operators are required to make pension contributions for platform workers, aligning the contribution rates with those provided to regular employees.

5. Algorithm: Unlike the EU Directive which establishes rules on the use of algorithm systems for platform work, Singapore’s law does not address the issue. The government acknowledged that the auditing for discrimination will be limited. 

The bottom line: We anticipate increased action on this issue and governments aiming to tackle platform work may use Singapore’s new approach as a benchmark.