Gojek GM warns of pricier rides due to platform workers law

CPF contributions under new law may cost industry $494m over 5 years, report finds

- Kok Yufeng

Hailing a ride in Singapore may become costlier due to a new law strengthening labour protections for platform workers.

But any increase in price for Gojek users due to the Platform Workers Act will not be a sizeable one, said the head of the Indonesian ride-hailing company's operations here.

"We are still looking at it, but it won't be something very substantial," said Gojek Singapore general manager Lien Choong Luen, when asked about the costs that may be passed on to consumers and what form this will take.

"We're really trying to just make sure that the economics works for us," he told The Straits Times in an interview on Nov 20 to mark the company's sixth year of operations in the Republic. Gojek launched its app here in November 2018.

The Platform Workers Act, which was passed by Parliament in September, will cover private-hire car drivers, cabbies and delivery workers who rely on online matching platforms such as Gojek for income.

Under the law, these platform workers will be able to contribute more to their Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts, with contribution rates that will increase over the next five years so they are eventually aligned to what employees and their employers pay today.

These higher CPF rates will be compulsory for younger platform workers born on or after Jan 1, 1995, and optional for older workers.

The law also makes it mandatory for all platform operators to provide platform workers with work injury compensation insurance with the same level of coverage as employees.