Higher costs to protect platform workers 'part and parcel' of doing business, says Koh Poh Koon as law passesHigher costs to protect platform workers 'part and parcel' of doing business, says Koh Poh Koon as law passes
The increased CPF contributions will gradually match those of salaried employees. This will be mandatory for platform workers aged 30 or younger in 2025, and optional for those who are older. Ms Usha also pointed out that a greater proportion of workers in these areas of beauty, grooming, caregiving and cleaning tended to be women. Hence, a"good number" of female platform workers may not benefit from protections under the new law, she said.
On concerns about the costs that come with platform worker protections, Dr Koh said these are"no different in nature" from what other employers are already incurring, and are"part and parcel" of running a business. Employers in non-platform sectors build the added costs into their overall operations and decide how to price their services based on a range of factors such as costs, profitability and market competition.
Platform workers too can choose to switch platforms if they feel that costs are unfairly passed on to them, Dr Koh said. He said that possible discrimination will be addressed by platform work associations with the legal mandate to represent the interests of platform workers. It was therefore"in the interest" of platform operators to treat all platform workers fairly regardless of whether they opted in or were under mandatory coverage.