Singapore PM pulls up food delivery apps on labor practices

Details:

• Prime Minister Lee said that he was especially concerned about delivery staff recruited by these firms as the workers had no employment contracts, no basic job protections, and earn “modest incomes” that make it difficult for them to afford things like healthcare, housing, and retirement savings.
• He added that as more people take up this kind of work, the problem is getting more severe and that the city-state must address the issue to give workers a more secure future.

Dive deeper:

• This was one of the many issues that the Singapore prime minister addressed on Sunday. He also said the government was drawing up anti-discrimination laws to protect foreign workers, while at the same time tightening visa requirements for overseas workers in a bid to quell the anger of the city-state’s citizens over allegedly unfair hiring practices against locals.
• The predatory practices of delivery companies have also recently come under scrutiny in other Asian countries such as India and Indonesia.