Since Singapore’s independence, the government has been successful in pursuing economic development to raise incomes and living standards. However, inequality has been on the rise and the stagnation of wages at the bottom of the distribution has emerged as an urgent policy issue. To address this concern, a Progressive Wage Model (PWM) was first introduced in 2012, aimed at lifting wages among workers in the cleaning sector. Since then, the PWM has expanded to also encompass the landscape and security sectors. It is set to be further extended to other low-wage sectors such as retail and food services.
The rise of the gig economy has however raised concerns about the welfare of an increasing number of workers in non-traditional sectors such as platform work. Workers for private hire vehicle and food delivery companies (like Grab, Gojek, Foodpanda and Deliveroo) are typically not considered employees and are therefore (as at April 2022) not protected by legislation such as the Employment Act.
This case study workshop considers existing challenges to wage interventions in the context of gig economy workers and explores possible policy solutions. Led by the LKYSPP’s in-house Case Study Unit, participants will be able to situate themselves in the complexity of real-world problems, adopt different vantage points and acquire insight into broader policymaking competencies and principles.
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