Look beyond gig work for greater security

A report by researchers from the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) that was published on Monday has found that food-delivery and private-hire vehicle platforms allow people from low-income backgrounds to earn a quick income and much more than what they normally would - but that these workers also run the risk of becoming trapped in poverty and precarity. The IPS researchers said in their working paper that these individuals may also become entrenched in such platform work, even as they see such jobs as a way out of unemployment and helplessness. Given a lack of savings and voluntary Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions, being stuck in platform work poses additional challenges to future aspirations, such as home ownership.

The IPS report draws attention to the wider implications of the gig economy. Some workers enter it because they cannot find jobs in the mainstream economy. Others do so because of a lifestyle choice that allows them to pick the kind of work they wish to do - often projects that may or may not lead to long-term jobs - and set a price on that work. Some workers engage in gig work in between jobs or larger economic cycles. The coronavirus pandemic, with its work-from-home protocols for example, accelerated demand for food-delivery workers for a considerable time.