2025年1月8日，新加坡人力部高级政务部长许宝琨医生代表人力部长在国会口头答复巴西立-榜鹅集选区议员杨涴凌、马西岭-油池集选区议员苏慧敏、蒙巴顿单选区议员林谋泉关于平台工人遭受骚扰与暴力的问题。
以下内容为新加坡眼根据国会英文资料翻译整理：
杨涴凌（巴西立-榜鹅集选区议员）议员询问人力部长：
（a）鉴于最近发生的一名外卖骑手在执行任务期间被刺伤的事件，平台工人报告的骚扰与暴力案件是否有所增加？
（b）人力部是否会要求送餐平台采取更多措施保护骑手和司机伙伴，而不仅仅是将施害者禁止使用平台？
许宝琨医生（人力部高级政务部长，代表人力部长）：
议长先生，像议员提到的刺伤事件属于严重犯罪，应由警方处理。
警方并未单独记录针对平台工人的骚扰或暴力案件数量。截至目前，人力部尚未接到任何平台工人关于骚扰或暴力的投诉。
议长：有请杨涴凌议员。
杨涴凌（巴西立-榜鹅集选区议员）：谢谢议长。我先声明，我是全国外卖骑手协会的顾问。议长先生，过去几年，我们的协会收到一些关于骚扰的反馈，有时是言语上的，有时是身体上的，但这些经历总是令人痛苦和创伤。尽管协会和全国职工总会为骑手们提供了心理咨询，有时还提供经济援助来帮助他们渡过难关，但如果平台工人在工作中受伤害，还有哪些申诉途径可以选择？
鉴于我们现在已将平台骑手和司机视为类似雇员的身份，这些申诉途径是否包括申请车辆保险，或者要求平台合作伙伴提供申诉机制？亦或是由人力部要求平台公司设立危机支持中心？
许宝琨医生（人力部高级政务部长，代表人力部长）：议长先生，我感谢议员的补充提问。我认为我们首先要认识到，平台工人在工作中接触大量公众，确实可能面临骚扰风险。
目前，平台工人已受《防骚扰法案》（POHA）保护，根据该法案，骚扰或对平台工人施暴的人可能会面临刑事指控。此外，根据刑法，任何对他人施暴的个人也可能被追究刑事责任。
因此，现行法律已为平台工人在执行工作时提供一定保护。我们注意到，在这一案件中，相关平台公司也禁止了实施暴力的客户使用其平台。这是公司可以采取的措施，以防止平台工人再次受到该客户的骚扰。
议长：有请苏慧敏议员。
苏慧敏（马西岭-油池集选区议员）：
议长先生，此次提到的受害者是我的兀里坊选区居民。圣诞节当天，高级政务部长扎吉哈和我探访了他，以更好地了解事发情况以及他的康复状况。我与他的父母有同样的感受，即外卖骑手这份工作存在一定危险性，且经常容易遭受不必要的虐待。
虽然高级政务部长提到《防骚扰法案》等法律可以为他们提供保护，但能否进一步加强对平台工人的保护？例如，将《防骚扰法案（公共服务工作者）命令2014》的保护范围扩展到平台工人，或以其他方式扩展保护。此外，即使他们通过POHA寻求保护，也可能缺乏财力和时间来完成这一过程。
许宝琨医生（人力部高级政务部长，代表人力部长）：
议长先生，我感谢议员的澄清，也欣慰地看到她和国会议员同事探访了这位居民。我希望他没有受到严重伤害，并正在康复中。不过，此案件仍在法院审理和调查中，因此我不会进一步评论。
目前，《防骚扰法案》和刑法下已有针对施暴者的刑事制裁，例如故意造成骚扰、惊恐或痛苦的罪犯，可被判处高达5,000新元的罚款、最长6个月的监禁，或两者兼施。对于更严重的案件，例如让受害者相信会遭受非法暴力的，罪犯可能面临高达5,000新元的罚款、最长12个月的监禁，或两者兼施。
尽管法律提供了一定程度的保护，但无法100%防止此类事件，因为这些情况涉及人与人的互动。任何从事服务行业的人都可能面临类似风险，例如护士、巴士司机，甚至销售人员。因此，仅通过扩展法律范围可能无法完全避免这些情况的发生。
平台工人由于流动性高，接触不同人群，因此面临额外挑战。除了法律保护外，公司可以通过教育平台工人识别潜在威胁、培养情境意识，使他们能够采取适当措施远离冲突，避免情况升级，保护自身安全。这些措施是法律保护之外的重要补充。
以下是英文质询内容：
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.
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.
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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