2025年1月8日，新加坡人力部高級政務部長許寶琨醫生代表人力部長在國會口頭答覆巴西立-榜鵝集選區議員楊涴凌、馬西嶺-油池集選區議員蘇慧敏、蒙巴頓單選區議員林謀泉關於平台工人遭受騷擾與暴力的問題。
以下內容為新加坡眼根據國會英文資料翻譯整理：
楊涴凌（巴西立-榜鵝集選區議員）議員詢問人力部長：
（a）鑒於最近發生的一名外賣騎手在執行任務期間被刺傷的事件，平台工人報告的騷擾與暴力案件是否有所增加？
（b）人力部是否會要求送餐平台採取更多措施保護騎手和司機夥伴，而不僅僅是將施害者禁止使用平台？
許寶琨醫生（人力部高級政務部長，代表人力部長）：
議長先生，像議員提到的刺傷事件屬於嚴重犯罪，應由警方處理。
警方並未單獨記錄針對平台工人的騷擾或暴力案件數量。截至目前，人力部尚未接到任何平台工人關於騷擾或暴力的投訴。
議長：有請楊涴凌議員。
楊涴凌（巴西立-榜鵝集選區議員）：謝謝議長。我先聲明，我是全國外賣騎手協會的顧問。議長先生，過去幾年，我們的協會收到一些關於騷擾的反饋，有時是言語上的，有時是身體上的，但這些經歷總是令人痛苦和創傷。儘管協會和全國職工總會為騎手們提供了心理諮詢，有時還提供經濟援助來幫助他們渡過難關，但如果平台工人在工作中受傷害，還有哪些申訴途徑可以選擇？
鑒於我們現在已將平台騎手和司機視為類似雇員的身份，這些申訴途徑是否包括申請車輛保險，或者要求平台合作夥伴提供申訴機制？亦或是由人力部要求平台公司設立危機支持中心？
許寶琨醫生（人力部高級政務部長，代表人力部長）：議長先生，我感謝議員的補充提問。我認為我們首先要認識到，平台工人在工作中接觸大量公眾，確實可能面臨騷擾風險。
目前，平台工人已受《防騷擾法案》（POHA）保護，根據該法案，騷擾或對平台工人施暴的人可能會面臨刑事指控。此外，根據刑法，任何對他人施暴的個人也可能被追究刑事責任。
因此，現行法律已為平台工人在執行工作時提供一定保護。我們注意到，在這一案件中，相關平台公司也禁止了實施暴力的客戶使用其平台。這是公司可以採取的措施，以防止平台工人再次受到該客戶的騷擾。
議長：有請蘇慧敏議員。
蘇慧敏（馬西嶺-油池集選區議員）：
議長先生，此次提到的受害者是我的兀里坊選區居民。聖誕節當天，高級政務部長扎吉哈和我探訪了他，以更好地了解事發情況以及他的康復狀況。我與他的父母有同樣的感受，即外賣騎手這份工作存在一定危險性，且經常容易遭受不必要的虐待。
雖然高級政務部長提到《防騷擾法案》等法律可以為他們提供保護，但能否進一步加強對平台工人的保護？例如，將《防騷擾法案（公共服務工作者）命令2014》的保護範圍擴展到平台工人，或以其他方式擴展保護。此外，即使他們通過POHA尋求保護，也可能缺乏財力和時間來完成這一過程。
許寶琨醫生（人力部高級政務部長，代表人力部長）：
議長先生，我感謝議員的澄清，也欣慰地看到她和國會議員同事探訪了這位居民。我希望他沒有受到嚴重傷害，並正在康復中。不過，此案件仍在法院審理和調查中，因此我不會進一步評論。
目前，《防騷擾法案》和刑法下已有針對施暴者的刑事制裁，例如故意造成騷擾、驚恐或痛苦的罪犯，可被判處高達5,000新元的罰款、最長6個月的監禁，或兩者兼施。對於更嚴重的案件，例如讓受害者相信會遭受非法暴力的，罪犯可能面臨高達5,000新元的罰款、最長12個月的監禁，或兩者兼施。
儘管法律提供了一定程度的保護，但無法100%防止此類事件，因為這些情況涉及人與人的互動。任何從事服務行業的人都可能面臨類似風險，例如護士、巴士司機，甚至銷售人員。因此，僅通過擴展法律範圍可能無法完全避免這些情況的發生。
平台工人由於流動性高，接觸不同人群，因此面臨額外挑戰。除了法律保護外，公司可以通過教育平台工人識別潛在威脅、培養情境意識，使他們能夠採取適當措施遠離衝突，避免情況升級，保護自身安全。這些措施是法律保護之外的重要補充。
以下是英文質詢內容：
Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether there has been a rise in harassment cases and violence reported by platform workers to date, in light of the recent stabbing of a delivery rider while in the course of his duty; and (b) whether the Ministry will look into ensuring that delivery platforms better protect their driving and riding partners in addition to only banning these perpetrators from the platform.
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{nextpage}The Senior Minister of State for Manpower (Dr Koh Poh Koon) (for the Minister for Manpower): Sir, cases such as the stabbing incident that the Member referred to, are serious crimes and best dealt with by the Police.
The Police do not track the number of harassment or violence-related crimes against platform workers per se. To date, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has not received any complaints from platform workers about harassment or violence.
Mr Speaker: Ms Yeo.
Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Thank you, Speaker. I would like to declare that I am the advisor to the National Delivery Champions Association. Mr Speaker, over the past few years, our association has received ground grievances on harassment, sometimes verbal, sometimes physical, but always hurtful and traumatic. While the association and the National Trades Union Congress have provided counselling and at times, financial support to help our riders through this, what are some other redress avenues available to our platform workers, should they be harmed when they are carrying out their work duties?
Given that we recognise platform riders and drivers as employee-like now, would these redress avenues also include claiming vehicle insurance or having their platform partners provide redress avenues for them, or perhaps even for the Ministry to mandate the creation of crisis support centres at the platform companies?
Dr Koh Poh Koon: Sir, I thank the Member for her supplementary questions. I think we must first recognise that platform workers, as they move around and interact with a great number of members of the public, can be exposed to risk of harassment. Platform workers are already protected through the Protection from Harassment Act, or POHA, where individuals who harass or commit violence against platform workers may be liable for criminal offences. All individuals who commit violence are also liable for criminal offences under the Penal Code.
So, there are already existing laws that actually protect platform workers against any form of harassment when they are conducting their work. We note in this case, that the platform company has also banned the particular customer who has displayed violence against the platform worker from using their platform. So, these are measures that companies can also adopt to protect the workers from further harassment by a particular member of public.
Mr Speaker: Ms Hany Soh.
Ms Hany Soh (Marsiling-Yew Tee): The victim raised in this relevant Parliamentary Question is actually my resident in Woodgrove, whom Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad and I had visited during Christmas Day to better understand the situation that has arisen and also the conditions of his recovery. I share the same sentiment as his parents, that his job as a delivery rider can be a dangerous one and often prone to unnecessary abuse.
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{nextpage}So, given that this job is public-facing and contains a service element, in relations to our platform workers' duties, while I understand from the Senior Minister of State that there are other laws out there, for example, in terms of POHA, that can protect them, but can we also look into whether enhancing this protection for them, such as expanding the coverage of protections under the Protection from Harassment (Public Service Worker) Order 2014, to include them as well, or to expand in other ways. For example, even if they were to pursue this route through the POHA, they may not have the financial means and time to do so.
Dr Koh Poh Koon: Sir, I thank the Member for her clarification. I am glad to see that she and her fellow Member of Parliament has visited this resident. I hope he has not sustained severe injuries and that he is recovering well. But this case is still before the Courts and still under investigation, so, I shall not comment further.
Suffice to say that under the existing law, POHA and the Penal Code, investigations will be carried out and if there is an establishment of an act of violence against another person, then the process of the law would take its course and the culprit will be taken to task.
Under the current law, POHA, there are already criminal sanctions against such offenders and there are quite stiff penalties as well, including, for example, if there are offenders who intentionally cause harassment, alarm or distress, they may be fined up to $5,000 or imprisonment, or up to six months or both. And if there are more serious cases, where the victim is led to believe that unlawful violence will be used, and in this case, violence has been used against him, then the offender could be liable for a fine of up to $5,000 or imprisonment, or up to 12 months or both. So, under our existing laws, there are punishments.
But the issue of a platform worker facing violence or harassment at work is not something that the law itself can 100% deter, because it deals with human-to-human interaction. This can happen to any person dealing with another person. It could happen to, say, nurses, it could happen to a bus driver, it could happen to just a sale staff, facing another person who decides to be violent against a person providing any form of service. Expanding the law itself may not prevent such things from happening, but what we can do is to make sure that if the person is working in a particular workplace where employers have control of the site, they can then deny or deter such people from entering the premises. The challenge, of course, with platform workers is that they move around. There is no fixed locality and they do encounter different people.
So, the law provides some of these protection. Perhaps, what the employers or the companies can do is to help educate or share some information with these workers to be able to spot trouble and develop some situational awareness so that they themselves are able to take appropriate measures to extricate themselves from a situation or an altercation, and prevent the situation from escalating and subjecting themselves to physical harm. I think these things can happen, which is why the law is there to protect them from some of these harassments.
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