(From left: Secretary-General Mr Ng Chee Meng, Senior Minister of State Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State Ms Sun Xueling, Grab Group Managing Director of Operations Mr Yee Wee Tang at the press conference)
Senior Minister of State Dr Koh Poh Koon,
Senior Minister of State Ms. Sun Xueling,
Secretary-General Mr. Ng Chee Meng,
Industry partners,
Media friends,
Good morning, and thank you for joining us.
The formation of the Platform Workers Trilateral Group reflects Singapore’s longstanding commitment to its tripartite model, where the government, industry players and worker associations come together to address challenges and advance shared goals. This partnership demonstrates how collaboration can drive meaningful change, and Grab is honoured to have been part of this initiative.
As SMS Koh, SMS Sun and Sec-Gen Ng have shared, the recommendations cover enforcement, prevention, and commitment to enhance industry standards. Today, I would like to share how platform operators, including Grab, will incorporate these into our operations to better support platform workers.
Delivery Sector Initiatives
One of the key concerns raised by delivery platform workers is the misuse of accounts. While platform operators have been tackling this individually, we will now work together as an industry to address it more effectively.
Today, major platform operators already require account holders to complete selfie verification at certain junctures. For Grab, we conduct close to a million selfie verification checks each month, and investigate around 10 cases for potential account misuse. Our checks are randomised to make it difficult for people to bypass them, and additional checks are triggered when suspicious activities are detected. Moving forward, Grab will increase the frequency of these checks and notify the Ministry of Manpower if there are reasonable suspicions of account misuse.
We understand that these additional checks may mean more inconvenience to platform workers, and we seek their understanding and cooperation. These measures are essential to prevent and detect account misuse, and ultimately protect the interests of our workers.
Platform workers have also expressed concerns about competition from foreigners employed by logistics companies. Grab, for example, works with outsourced logistics companies on a limited basis. We only engage their services in high-demand areas where we consistently do not have enough platform workers to meet high consumer demand. These logistics companies account for only a single-digit percentage of our total delivery fleet, and the majority of them are Singaporean Citizens and Permanent Residents.
While it is legal for platform operators to engage outsourced logistics companies to maintain service reliability, we acknowledge platform workers’ concerns about competition. As such, Grab will introduce new measures to further protect platform workers’ interest. Starting 6 October, platform workers will have a 90-minute priority window to book shifts in areas where outsourced logistics companies operate.
Ultimately, we want more platform workers to be in these high-demand areas. When we have a stable supply of platform workers in these areas, we can reduce our reliance on outsourced logistics companies. To ensure platform workers know where high-demand zones are, we have started labelling Shift slots in these areas as Hot zones. We hope to see more platform workers signing up for these slots.
Ride-Hailing Sector Initiatives
Moving on to ride-hailing, SMS Sun highlighted the government’s efforts to clamp down on illegal point-to-point services, and raise penalties for offenders. Illegal services not only affect the livelihoods of licensed driver-partners but also pose safety risks to consumers. We fully support these measures, and will work closely with the government and associations to help the public understand the risks of using illegal services.
As platform operators, we must also continue working closely with the government to innovate and provide safe, reliable, and convenient legal alternatives. For example, an area that we are keen to explore together with the government is cross-border services, which can meet growing consumer demand while providing driver-partners with additional earning opportunities.
Raising Standards for Platform Work
Platform work offers flexibility, allowing workers to decide how many hours and when to work. However, this flexibility can also lead to long working hours as platform workers pursue higher earnings. To safeguard the health and safety of platform workers, the industry is committing to three key principles developed in partnership with Platform Work Associations:
First, we will ensure fair and transparent earnings. Grab is already looking at potential ways to better explain platform workers’ earnings through the Driver app. We will consult drivers and PWAs along the way.
Second, we will proactively engage PWAs on major changes to incentive schemes. This allows both parties to consider each other’s perspectives thoroughly before implementing changes. Grab has a strong working relationship with PWAs and is committed to leading by example
Third, incentive schemes should not encourage overwork. We will continue to monitor our partners’ online hours, and adjust our incentive programmes where necessary. Importantly, we will also invest in productivity features to support platform workers to reach their earning goals faster.
Closing Remarks
The ten recommendations put forth by the PWTG set a strong foundation. Its continued success lies in our shared responsibility to implement them effectively over the long term.
Grab is deeply grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the government, associations, and fellow platform operators in co-developing these recommendations. As a company, we are fully committed to holding ourselves accountable, and playing our part in raising industry standards to better support platform workers.
Thank you.