WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE
Responding to TODAY’s queries, NDCA mechanic Yeo Wan Ling stressed how vulnerable self-employed people are, when it comes to legal protection and fair contract conditions, among others.
“Income fluctuations furthermore make it challenging meant for gig workers in order to strike a balance between cash flow for business operations and putting aside funds for contingencies, housing, healthcare and retirement, ” the lady said.
Ms Yeo, who is also an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, noted that presently, these workers are unable to claim for work injuries under the Work Injury Compensation Function (WICA) even though they may be susceptible to accidents on the highway.
“Medical coverage provided by system operators is currently inadequate and uneven, leaving behind little to simply no income support meant for riders if they are on medical leave, inch she said.
The lady added that the association is saddened from the fatal traffic mishaps involving food delivery riders in the past 18 months, and it “strongly (believes) that more can be achieved to address the well-being and safety of our platform workers who need their livelihoods to support themselves and their families”.
Apart from security concerns, the overall welfare of food shipping riders has also been a source of concern for the Government, with Prime Ressortchef (umgangssprachlich) Lee Hsien Loong touching on the issue during his National Day Rally talk in August this past year.
This individual pointed out that these event workers do not have work contracts, and thus they will lack basic job protection that most employees have, such as workplace injury compensation, union representation and employers’ contribution to the Central Provident Fund (CPF).
Talking with TODAY, Associate Professor Walter Theseira from the Singapore College of Social Sciences said that national standards on insurance plus sick leave must be made necessary for this kind of workers, instead of systems offering voluntary options.
Nevertheless , the flexible nature of food shipping riders’ work might make such policies difficult to mandate, said Doctor Woo Jun Jie, a senior analysis fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, National University associated with Singapore.
“For instance, riders do not work set hours nor are they tied to any particular organisations, ” stated Dr Woo.
NDCA president Goh Yong Wei reiterated that “adequate” insurance coverage is necessary to allow riders peace of mind when on the road, knowing that they are financially protected should any sort of accident happen.
Mister Goh, who is the food delivery rider, said: “Most of the platforms provide basic insurance coverage along with upgradable options, but I feel that it’s generally not sufficient. I do buy my own accident and hospitalisation plans through the insurance agent to ensure I get proper protection. ”
Several experts have suggested that these food shipping platforms leverage technologies — such as enhancing the algorithms each uses — to enhance riders’ safety.
In a joint essay, Singapore Management University or college Professor of Information Techniques Wang Hai and University of Hong Kong research fellow Sun Hao wrote about how to improve the algorithms utilized by platforms. A few of the recommendations could make deliveries less stressful for riders, that could in turn improve their basic safety.
An example is for the algorithm estimating the particular delivery rider’s moments of arrival to include the rider’s mode of transportation and also information on the delivery location, such as if the rider needs to use stairs to reach the device.
This could provide riders with a more reasonable timeframe designed for deliveries and give all of them adequate time to show up. Other recommendations include placing conformity with safety laws and regulations as a top aspect when evaluating food delivery riders and giving them more purchases.
Speaking to TODAY, Prof Wang Hai recommended that traffic police work with food delivery companies to keep track of traffic violations by their riders. They can also work together to share information on accident-prone areas, to ensure that companies can make use of this data for their formula and allow bikers more time when passing through such areas.
Other functions, such as a push notification to inform riders of accident-prone areas, can also serve as a safety reminder.