SINGAPORE: A trilateral group looking into the issue of foreigners taking on delivery jobs in Singapore illegally is aiming to submit its recommendations by the end of the year, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon on Monday (Jul 14).
Announced earlier this month, the Platform Workers Trilateral Group comprises the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and Grab Singapore, who will work with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and its affiliated associations to tackle this and other issues affecting platform workers.
Meeting for the first time on Monday, the group agreed on two areas to focus on, said Mr Koh in a Facebook post.
First, it will consider how to address platform workers’ concerns about fair competition stemming from “outsourcing practices and unauthorised activities” in the sector.
These include foreigners illegally using platform accounts or taking on delivery jobs without valid work passes, as well as the provision of illegal hitch services, said Mr Koh.
Second, the group “will work with platform operators to establish fair and safe principles for payment and incentives schemes”.
“We look forward to having further robust discussions on how we can work together to address challenges faced by platform workers and safeguard their well-being,” said Mr Koh.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Grab said: “Our goal as a trilateral group is to co-create solutions and industry best practices to protect the livelihoods of platform workers and safeguard their well-being, especially against unlicensed workers and services.”
