Increase in Percentage of Self-employed Persons in Resident Workforce during COVID-19 Pandemic and Policies in Place to Better Protect Their Job Security

Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Manpower whether he can provide an update on plans to provide greater structural support and CPF contributions for workers who are self-employed, especially those who operate in the gig economy.

The proportion of Self-Employed Persons (SEPs) in our resident workforce has remained stable at between 8% and 10% over the past five years.

Over the years, the Government has put in place several measures to support SEPs. They are required to make CPF contributions to their MediSave account and we have piloted the Contribute-As-You-Earn (CAYE) scheme to make it more convenient for them to do so. Eligible lower-income SEPs will receive up to $2,667 of Workfare payouts per year. The Government has also worked with insurers to introduce prolonged medical leave insurance, which many SEP drivers and riders are now covered by. Like other Singaporeans, they are also covered by national healthcare schemes. The Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) provides mediation services to SEPs to address disputes with their service buyers and SEPs can have their rights enforced at the Small Claims Tribunal. Additionally, those who wish to transit to regular employment can tap on our skills training and employment facilitation services, including career advisory counselling offered by Workforce Singapore (WSG) and Employment and Employability Institute (e2i).

To strengthen protections for platform workers and ensure a more balanced relationship between platform companies and their workers, MOM convened an Advisory Committee last year. Since then, the Committee has received extensive feedback from various stakeholders, including over 1,300 responses to the public consultation paper published in November 2021. The Committee is continuing to engage stakeholders further on these matters.