A Breakthrough Year in Advancing Workers' Rights in Singapore

It's work in progress, but new labour legislation in 2024 to balance worker protections with economic realities marks a significant step.

- Mathew Mathews and Melvin Tay

In a world where labour rights have increasingly come under threat, Singapore made significant strides in 2024 on worker protection through a variety of legislative measures.

Reports from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the World Justice Project (WJP) highlight a mixed global state of labour rights.

The 2024 WJP Rule of Law Index points to improvements in areas such as combating labour discrimination in 52 per cent of countries. But it underscores that even in countries showing improvement, scores remain low.

Meanwhile, the ITUC Global Rights Index signals a troubling deterioration in workers' rights over the past decade, marked by weakened collective bargaining, growing income inequality, and crackdowns on unions.

Against this challenging global backdrop, Singapore's legislative efforts over the past 12 months stand out. These included the Platform Workers Act, the Workplace Fairness Legislation, and the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) Requests. The measures reflect a commitment to balancing worker protections with economic realities.

However, as we begin 2025, further progress on the journey will require navigating the complex interplay between workers' needs and business interests.

KEY LEGISLATIVE MILESTONES

The Platform Workers Act, which was enacted in 2024, directly addresses the unique needs of approximately 70,000 such workers in Singapore. They comprise about 3 per cent of the resident labour force.

By creating a framework that recognises their hybrid status - as neither employees of platforms nor self-employed - the Act provides much-needed protections to mitigate their vulnerabilities as part of the digital and gig economy.