60% of riders polled signed up during pandemic

About 60 per cent of food delivery riders in Singapore entered the gig economy during the Covid-19 pandemic, a survey by the three major food delivery platforms here has found.

But almost two in three of the 4,200 riders polled said they delivered food only on a part-time basis, with 54 per cent working fewer than 20 hours a week on average, according to the survey released on Tuesday.

Carried out between March 4 and 17, the survey is the first to be jointly conducted by Grab, Deliveroo and foodpanda.

The results showed 29 per cent of the riders relied on food delivery work for all of their income, and just 25 per cent said they did gig work for more than 40 hours a week. When asked about their motivation for pursuing gig work, 57 per cent cited flexibility as the main draw.

The platforms said gig work remains largely misunderstood here, citing what they claimed was a common misconception - that delivery riders are low-wage workers.

Data from last year across the three platforms showed that median hourly earnings for riders here were between $12 and $18.

This, the platforms said, is higher than the $7 to $11 per hour advertised for food and beverage roles, and $8 to $9 per hour paid to cleaners and security guards.

In the latest survey, 52 per cent of the delivery riders said gig work had materially improved their financial position.

The platforms said they chose to focus on food delivery riders as the experiences and issues they encountered are often conflated with those faced by third-party logistics drivers and ride-hailing drivers.

The survey found resistance among riders towards mandatory contributions to the Central Provident Fund (CPF), a measure an advisory committee on platform workers set up by the Government is considering to help improve their retirement and housing adequacy.

Platform workers in this case refer specifically to delivery workers, private-hire car drivers and cabbies, and the advisory committee is leading a review of the protections afforded to these workers.

While 43 per cent of the delivery riders polled by the three platforms already contribute to their CPF accounts, 61 per cent said they did not want CPF contributions to be deducted from their earnings.

Meanwhile, 55 per cent said they are unwilling to pay any fees for third-party union representation, another measure being considered by the advisory committee.

The survey results have been shared with the Ministry of Manpower and the advisory committee, which is expected to complete its review later this year.

This latest survey comes on the heels of two recent studies on gig work here, with one highlighting the risks and dangers of platform work in the longer term and another finding high job satisfaction among food delivery riders.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Advisory Committee on Platform Workers said it will consider the feedback from such surveys.