The debate surrounding the Platform Workers Bill, which passed into law on Sept 10, has ignited a crucial conversation about the true cost of convenience.

Under the new law, platform workers such as delivery riders and private-hire and taxi drivers will be better protected from 2025.

While many argue that increased protection for platform workers will burden consumers and businesses, former president Halimah Yacob highlighted the distorted reality of platform work and its impact on workers.

"Platform work has greatly distorted the price of goods and services," Madam Halimah wrote in a Facebook post. "As consumers, we expect cheap and fast delivery."

This expectation, she argued, is fuelled by a system that places the cost of this convenience on the shoulders of the very people who deliver it – the platform workers.

"Platform workers are employees after all," she said. "They cannot charge their own price and are subject to the companies' operating hours and schedules and other conditions of work."

Yet, unlike traditional employees, they are not afforded the same protections. They lack access to sick leave, benefits, and social security, leaving them vulnerable to financial instability and unable to plan for their future.

Madam Halimah wrote: "We cannot have a segment of our society not able to buy homes, provide for their health and retirement and other basic needs. They can't plan for their future which affects their children, our next generation."

This vulnerability not...

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