Platform workers will qualify if they earned more than S$500 per month from platform work across all operators for every month between December 2025 and February 2026.
Taxi drivers are eligible if they had a vehicle hire agreement with a taxi operator during the same period.
The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board will process the payouts automatically using income data submitted by platform operators for CPF contributions, according to The Business Times.
Payments are scheduled to be made via PayNow-NRIC by the end of April, or through GIRO by May 11, while recipients without linked bank accounts will be paid via GovCash by May 18.
For eligible taxi drivers who do not receive their payments through the CPF Board, the Land Transport Authority will automatically disburse payouts by mid-May.
 |
|
Taxis at the Lucky Plaza taxi stand in Singapore. Photo by SPH Media via AFP |
The cash relief, announced on Tuesday by Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow, is aimed at easing the strain of higher petrol prices on these workers’ earnings.
Fuel prices have climbed steadily over the past month amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East, though the government has said it will not step in to control pump prices.
“We do not think this would be the right move. It is too blunt an approach, and it could also be regressive,” Siow explained, as quoted by AsiaOne.
“Our approach, therefore, is to provide direct support to small-medium enterprises, companies, drivers, people who are more directly affected by the fuel prices.”
Yeo Wan Ling, assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress, welcomed the move but said similar support should also cover self-employed combi bus and limousine drivers.
“NTUC will continue to work closely with the government and industry partners – and press for a strong tripartite response – so that support reaches affected workers,” she said in a Facebook post cited by Channel News Asia.
“We will keep pushing for broader, practical support – so that no worker is left behind during this challenging period.”
The payout is part of a broader support package worth nearly S$1 billion aimed at softening the impact of rising energy costs linked to the Middle East conflict.
The package includes a range of measures to support businesses, workers and households, such as bringing forward S$500 in cost-of-living vouchers for households by six months and increasing a one-off cash payout for eligible adults by S$200.
