Industry players in Malaysia’s gig economy have expressed concern over the draft of the Gig Worker’s Bill. In a joint statement by Bolt, FastGig, foodpanda, GoGet, Grab, Halo Delivery, Kiddocare, and Lalamove, ShopeeFood, the platforms said the draft bill may not fully achieve its intended objectives for gig workers and the broader industry. The statement follows a town hall meeting on the Gig Workers Bill on 19 February 2025. “Before the Bill is presented to Parliament, it is crucial to ensure its provisions are clear, practical and implementable.”
The joint statement further stated that key aspects of the Bill require refinement to reflect the realities of gig work, address feasibility challenges, and close loopholes or double jeopardies. It added that “without a clear, comprehensive implementation framework, there is a significant risk that the Bill could unintentionally disrupt gig work, increase barriers to entry that prevent workers from earning a livelihood, and stall the sector’s growth and innovation.
The joint statement identified three key areas of concern:
1. Consultative Council’s Impact on Operations – While setting minimum industry standards has its merits, a top down approach to fares and compensation in the gig economy could stifle innovation and competition, leading to higher service costs. This rigidity may also challenge industry operations, reducing opportunities and income sources for gig workers. A flexible, market-driven approach is crucial to sustaining sector growth and ensuring gig workers can continue earning.
2. Social Protection Contributions – The Bill lacks clarity on how contribution requirements will apply to gig workers engaged across multiple platforms. If workers drive for a ride-hailing platform in the morning and deliver food for a different platform at night, will they pay separate contributions for both roles? This could double their financial burden and deter their participation in the gig economy. Likewise, if a worker drives 70% of their time for one platform and 30% for another, how should the platforms contribute equally? We believe this approach will have an undue impact on local smaller industry players, reducing competition in the market and ultimately reducing earning opportunities for workers across various demographics.
3. Deduction mechanism: The proposed Bill includes a deduction mechanism that is overly rigid and burdensome. A significant portion of this mechanism requires platforms to seek approval from the Director-General of Labour for all deductions, adding layers of bureaucracy. This mechanism fails to consider practical scenarios, such as when a driver-partner inadvertently overcharges a consumer e.g. in the instance of charging for toll, or if they enter into commercial agreements with platforms i.e. loan and rentals.
As a group that partners with more than a million gig workers in the country, it proposed two measures to be executed before the tabling of the Bill. The group calls for a feasibility and impact study to be conducted nationwide involving direct engagement with platforms and gig workers via questionnaires and integrated data points across various industries. The group also suggested a regulatory sandboxing of provisions to allow for key provisions to be tested in a controlled environment. It said the process will enable stakeholders to gather valuable feedback, evaluate regulations, collect valuable data, refine solutions, and better understand potential impacts before wider implementation of the bill to ensure it is sustainable and workable for gig workers and industry players.
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