Over the weekend, a dialogue session hosted by Leader of the Opposition (LO) Pritam Singh took place at Block 615 Bedok Reservoir Road, and one participant walked away with mixed feelings.
The attendee, a unionised member of the National Delivery Champions Association (NDCA), shared his experience on Facebook after turning up to hear what the Workers’ Party (WP) had to say about issues faced by gig workers, especially delivery riders.
He said he found out about the session through a Telegram group chat and decided to attend to better understand the opposition’s stance on labour issues, especially since he’s part of the “establishment” camp.
Many came down to share feedback with WP
To his delight, the event saw many passionate individuals from different walks of life engaging with WP on gig economy matters.
He noted that this engagement is important, especially with Parliamentary Questions (PQs) expected to be raised soon. These PQs would likely address inefficiencies in how platform work is managed and regulated in Singapore.
NTUC forms Trilateral Workgroup to tackle issue seriously
Just a few days ago, on 4 July, the same attendee had also joined a panel by NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng at Fernvale CC.
There, he shared his views on the growing number of illegal food delivery riders, including those renting accounts or working without permits.
He stressed that the issue shouldn’t be seen purely through a nationalist or political lens, but addressed seriously with facts and empathy. He also highlighted that not all blame lies with foreigners, as some Singaporeans and PRs were also exploiting the system by renting out accounts on platforms like Carousell.
In response, NTUC said it would be looking into the issue seriously by forming a Trilateral Workgroup, involving MOM, MOT and NTUC itself, to tackle such grey areas properly.
NTUC also noted recent reports of foreigners performing delivery jobs illegally without work permits, creating unfair competition for local workers and directly affecting their livelihoods. Such practices not only distort the platform economy but also undermine legitimate efforts to uplift gig workers in Singapore.
NTUC and Labour MPs have been consistently championing gig workers
More broadly, NTUC, together with its affiliated Platform Work Associations (PWAs) — the NDCA, National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA), and National Taxi Association (NTA) — have consistently championed the interests of platform workers in Singapore.
Labour Members of Parliament, including NTUC Assistant Secretary-Generals Yeo Wan Ling and Melvin Yong, as well as former Nominated Member of Parliament Jean See, have been regularly engaging gig workers through dialogues and speaking up for them in Parliament.
Among the key issues they have raised:
- The need for certainty in earnings
- Safety concerns for delivery partners and drivers
- Unfair competition from illegal hitch service providers
Pritam had different views
However, when it came to engaging the Workers’ Party, the attendee felt his concerns weren’t fully acknowledged.
According to his post, Pritam Singh was more focused on how platform operators outsource labour legally to third-party contractors. The LO felt that this system could dilute the bargaining power of delivery riders and distract from holding companies accountable.
WP also appeared less keen to discuss Singaporeans’ roles in enabling illegal practices like account rentals or manipulation of CPF contributions and platform algorithms.
Still, the attendee said he appreciated the handshake and follow-up discussion with Pritam and WP member Low Wu Yang Andre, where he shared more about the benefits of union membership and training schemes like NTUC’s Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP).
He was surprised, however, that WP leaders weren’t more familiar with such schemes.
When asked when WP would be raising PQs in Parliament, Pritam said he wasn’t able to confirm a date yet, adding that more feedback was still needed. The attendee found that understandable, given that WP may still be building its experience in domestic labour matters.
Opposition plays an important role, he says
Despite the differences in opinion, the attendee ended his post on a gracious note, wishing Pritam and WP all the best in pushing forward with the necessary PQs.
“The opposition is an important function in ensuring the health of our parliament and democracy,” he wrote.
As gig work and platform labour continue to evolve in Singapore, it seems both sides of the political aisle, the establishment and the opposition, still have much to learn and work on together.
You may read his post in full text below:
[The Workers’ Party ready for domestic labour affairs?]
A few hours ago I attended a dialogue hosted by the Leader of Opposition (L.O), The Hon. Pritam Singh at Block 615 Bedok Reservoir Road. I was notified about the dialogue from a comrade that posted the notification on the NDCA – National Delivery Champions Association Telegram group. I thought it was relevant to be present, to better understand labour related matters from the other side of the pond since I myself am a unionized member of the NDCA, a part of the establishment.
I was very much delighted to see passionate individuals from all walks of life making themselves present to also engage L.O, to better prepare him for the necessary Parliamentary Questions (P.Qs) he may float in parliament, on the matters of inefficiencies within the platform worker gig economy.
Similar to last Friday, the 4th of July 2025, where I was present to share with The Hon. Ng Chee Meng 黄志明 during his panel on said matter at Fernvale CC, I had emphasized the need to understand the illegal delivery worker issues beyond a subject matter of nationalism and jingoism, so as to not lose oneself to hyper-politicizing the subject. The executives at NDCA were more than happy to hear my in-situ observations post panel, and also acknowledged that such illegal issues were perpetuated by nefarious Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs) who were capitalising on lackluster regulations, and hence would be approaching this issue carefully via the formation of a Trilateral Work Group, consisting of the Singapore Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Transport, Singapore, NTUC, along with it’s affiliated associations (https://www.straitstimes.com/…/foreigners-taking-on…; https://www.channelnewsasia.com/…/deliveroo-foodpanda…).
Unfortunately, L.O did not receive my opinions well and instead emphasized that the main subject matter should be focused on the issues of platform operators outsourcing labour within the legal framework to contractors that may or may not artificially deflate the negotiating power of delivery partners, and we should not blame the Singaporeans on being complicit with the illegal rental of accounts or monopolising on a single platform, which inadvertently opens up another can of worms, mainly CPF Board-Ordinary Account (OA) fraud, Medisave fraud, and gaming of platform algorithms (using multi phantom accounts of the same platform).
We shook hands after, and I shared more to L.O and The Hon. Low Wu Yang Andre 刘宇扬 since they had asked me about the benefits and importance of unionizing, and I was surprised that they were not well informed about the andragogical opportunities for workers through the Singapore National Trade Union Congress, Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP) (https://www.ntuc.org.sg/…/union-training-assistance…).
I ended the conversation by asking L.O, as to when the necessary PQs would be materialised and he was unsure at confirming a date, since he still needs more time to gather necessary feedback and it is respectfully understandable due to The Workers’ Party’s lack of experience and exposure in domestic labour affairs.
I wish L.O and the W.P the best of luck moving forward with regards to the necessary PQs being asked in parliament in the future. The opposition is an important function in ensuring the health of our parliament and democracy.
