For struggling platform workers, loopholes threaten rice bowls

Singapore's gig workers face a tough environment and unauthorised competition from foreigners adds to their worries.

- Mathew Mathews and Tan Lyn Cai

Platform workers in Singapore recently raised their concerns with NTUC about foreigners illegally doing delivery work. Their complaints have revealed more than just security loopholes — they have exposed the deep-seated anxieties of local platform workers about the security of their livelihoods.

Singapore has very strict employment regulations and stiff penalties for illegal work. Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, foreign workers are only permitted to work in Singapore with valid work passes and must strictly adhere to the occupations specified in their passes. Those flouting these rules face fines of up to $20,000, imprisonment of up to two years, or both. Additionally, convicted offenders may be permanently barred from working in Singapore.

With such measures in place, breaches of these laws are rare. In response to a parliamentary question in 2023, the Ministry of Manpower clarified that the authorities had investigated 163 complaints between 2018 and October 2023 about suspected illegal foreign delivery riders. Enforcement action was taken against only 10 foreigners. Some of the foreigners suspected to be working illegally as platform delivery riders were on work passes as in-house deliverymen. In other cases, there was insufficient evidence to prosecute.

However, this is cold comfort for the many platform workers already struggling with the precarity of their work, where fare structures are opaque and earnings unpredictable. Based on a 2022 IPS survey on food delivery riders, the top worry for these platform workers is that they would not be able to earn enough because "there are many people becoming food delivery riders".