Schedule 6

replace the definition of “industrial matters” with —“ “industrial matters” —

in relation to employers and employees, means matters pertaining to the relations of employers and employees which are connected with the employment or non‑employment or the terms of employment, the transfer of employment or the conditions of work of any person; and

in relation to platform operators and platform workers, means matters pertaining to the relations of platform operators and platform workers which are connected with —

the engagement or non‑engagement of any person to provide any platform service;

the terms under which any person provides any platform service; or

the conditions of work of any person who provides any platform service;”; and

replace the definition of “officer” with —“ “officer” —

in relation to a trade union or a branch of a trade union, includes any member of the body, by whatever name called, to which the management of the affairs of the trade union or branch is entrusted; and

in relation to a platform work association or a branch of a platform work association, includes any member of the body, by whatever name called, to which the management of the affairs of the platform work association or branch is entrusted;“platform operator” has the meaning given by section 4 of the Platform Workers Act 2024, and includes —

a duly authorised manager of a platform operator; and

a person who owns or is for the time being responsible for the management or control of the provision of a platform service;“platform service” has the meaning given by section 3 of the Platform Workers Act 2024;“platform work association” means a platform work association registered under the Platform Workers Act 2024;“platform worker” has the meaning given by section 5(1) of the Platform Workers Act 2024;”.Amendment of section 63. In the IRA, in section 6 —

in subsections (1), (2), (3)(a) and (4)(a), replace “employer panel” with “business panel”;

in subsections (1), (2), (3)(b) and (4)(b), replace “employee panel” with “worker panel”;

in subsection (3)(a), after “employers”, insert “or a platform work association of platform operators”;

in subsection (3)(b), after “employees”, insert “or a platform work association of platform workers”;

in subsection (4)(a), replace “subsection (3)” with “subsection (3)(a)”;

in subsection (4)(b), replace “subsection (3)” with “subsection (3)(b)”; and

in subsection (5), after “employees”, insert “or platform work associations of platform operators or platform workers”.Amendment of section 74. In the IRA, in section 7 —

in subsections (1) and (2), replace “employer panel” with “business panel”;

in subsection (1), after “employee”, insert “or a platform worker”;

replace subsection (3) with —“(3) A person who is —

an employer, a director of a company which is an employer or employed by a trade union of employers or association of employers; or

a platform operator, a director of a company which is a platform operator or employed by a platform work association of platform operators or an association of platform operators,shall not be eligible to be a member of the worker panel.”; and

in subsection (4)(d), after “trade union”, insert “or platform work association”.Amendment of section 115. In the IRA, in section 11 —

in subsections (1)(a) and (2), after “trade unions of employees”, insert “or platform work associations of platform workers (as the case may be)”;

in subsections (1)(a) and (2), replace “employee panel” with “worker panel”;

in subsections (1)(b), (2) and (3)(a), after “employers”, insert “or platform operators”;

in subsections (1)(b) and (2), replace “employer panel” with “business panel”; and

in subsection (3)(a), after “majority of employees”, insert “, or platform work associations of platform workers who represent the majority of platform workers (as the case may be),”.Amendment of section 256. In the IRA, in section 25(9), after “trade union”, insert “or platform work association”.Amendment of section 297. In the IRA, in section 29, after “trade union”, insert “or platform work association”.Amendment of section 488. In the IRA, in section 48(2), delete “in Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil”.Amendment of section 509. In the IRA, in section 50(1), delete “in Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil,”.Replacement of section 5310. In the IRA, replace section 53 with —“Recovery of wages or earnings under award53.—

An employee bound by an award may recover in any court of competent jurisdiction any amount which the employee is entitled to be paid by way of wages or otherwise in accordance with the award.(2) A platform worker bound by an award may recover in any court of competent jurisdiction any amount which the platform worker is entitled to be paid by way of earnings (within the meaning given by section 2 of the Platform Workers Act 2024) or otherwise in accordance with the award.”.Amendment of section 5511. In the IRA, in section 55 —

in subsection (1), replace paragraph (a) with —“(a)enter without previous notice at any hour of the day or night —

all places of employment where the inspecting officer has reason to believe that an employee entitled to the benefit of an award is employed; or

all places occupied by a platform operator bound by an award,and inspect any work, material, machinery, appliance or article therein; and”;

in subsection (2)(b), replace “his representative” with “platform operator or a representative of the employer or platform operator (as the case may be)”;

in subsection (3)(a) and (b), after “an employee”, insert “or a platform worker (as the case may be)”; (d)in subsection (3)(a), after “his employer”, insert “, or to the platform worker or his platform operator,”; and

in subsection (3)(b), after “employer”, insert “or platform operator (as the case may be)”.Amendment of section 5612. In the IRA, in section 56(b), after “trade union”, insert “, platform work association”.Amendment of section 5713. In the IRA, in section 57 —

in subsection (2)(a) and (b), after “trade union”, insert “or platform work association”;

in subsection (2)(b), after “employer”, insert “, a platform operator”;

replace subsection (5) with —“(5) Where a Court punishes as contempt a failure by a person to comply with an order of the Court, that person shall, during a period of 2 years from the date on which the punishment is imposed (or any lesser period that the Court may determine), be ineligible —

to be nominated for election as —

an officer of a trade union, branch of a trade union or federation; or

an officer of a platform work association or branch of a platform work association; or

to act as an officer mentioned in paragraph (a)(i) or (ii).”;

in subsection (6), replace “an officer of a trade union, or a branch of a trade union or a federation of trade unions” with “an officer mentioned in subsection (5)(a)(i) or (ii)”;

in subsection (6)(b), replace “for a second or subsequent offence” with “if the person is a repeat offender,”; and

after subsection (6), insert —“(7) For the purposes of subsection (6)(b), “repeat offender”, in relation to an offence under subsection (6), means a person who —

is convicted, or found guilty, of an offence under subsection (6); and

has been convicted, or found guilty, of an offence under subsection (6) on at least one other occasion (whether before, on or after the date of commencement of paragraph 13 of the Sixth Schedule to the Platform Workers Act 2024).”.Amendment of section 5814. In the IRA, in section 58 —

after subsection (1), insert —“(1A) If it appears to a Court that a number of members of a platform work association sufficiently large to form a substantial part of its membership refuse to provide a platform service in accordance with an award, the Court may, subject to such conditions as it thinks fit, by order cancel or suspend for such period as it thinks fit all or any of the terms of the award so far as the award applies to or is in favour of the platform work association or its members.”; and

in subsections (2) and (3), after “the trade union”, insert “or platform work association (as the case may be)”.Amendment of section 5915. In the IRA, in section 59(2), after “trade union”, insert “, platform work association”.Amendment of section 6116. In the IRA, in section 61(g), after “dismissed employee”, insert “or the resumption of a platform worker’s provision of a platform service for a platform operator (as the case may be)”.Amendment of section 6217. In the IRA, in section 62(2), replace “any person or trade union without the consent of that person or trade union” with “any person, trade union or platform work association without the consent of that person, trade union or platform work association, as the case may be”.Amendment of section 6318. In the IRA, in section 63(2), after “trade union”, insert “or platform work association (as the case may be)”.Amendment of section 6419. In the IRA, in section 64 —

in subsection (1)(a), delete “or” at the end;

in subsection (1), after paragraph (a), insert —“(aa)being a platform work association, may be represented by an officer of the platform work association or, in the case of a platform work association of platform workers, by an officer of the platform work association or an industrial relations officer selected by the platform work association; or”;

in subsection (1)(b), after “not being a trade union”, insert “or platform work association”;

in subsection (1)(b)(ii), after “trade union”, insert “or platform work association”;

replace subsection (3) with —“(3) In this section, “officer” —

in relation to a trade union, includes for the purposes of any proceedings before the Court a person appointed by the body, by whatever name called, to which the management of the affairs of the trade union is entrusted, to represent the trade union in those proceedings; or

in relation to a platform work association, includes for the purposes of any proceedings before the Court a person appointed by the body, by whatever name called, to which the management of the affairs of the platform work association is entrusted, to represent the platform work association in those proceedings.”; and

in subsection (4), after “trade union”, insert “or platform work association”.Amendment of section 6720. In the IRA, in section 67(1)(b), after “employee”, insert “or platform worker”.Amendment of section 7721. In the IRA, in section 77(5) —

after “any trade union”, insert “or platform work association”; and

after “the trade union”, insert “or platform work association in question”.New Part 8A22. In the IRA, after Part 8, insert —“Part 8aAPPLICATION OF ACT TO PLATFORM OPERATORS, PLATFORM WORKERS AND PLATFORM WORK ASSOCIATIONSDivision 1 — PreliminaryApplication of Part 3 and Parts 5 to 9, etc.77A.—

Part 3 and Parts 5 to 9 apply in relation to a platform operator, platform worker and platform work association as they apply in relation to an employer, an employee and a trade union, with the following modifications:

the sections in the second column of the following table (called the applicable section) apply in lieu of the sections in the first column (called the replaced section), and any reference in any other written law to a replaced section is to be read as a reference to the applicable section:First columnReplaced sectionSecond columnApplicable section(i)35(2) to (11)77B(ii)4277C(iii)5077D(iv)5177E(v)5277F(vi)5477G(vii)8077H(viii)8277I(ix)8377J;

in sections 17(1), (2), (4) and (5), 18(1), 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 31(a), 38, 39, 40(1), 41, 43, 44, 45 and 48, any reference in the first column of the following table is to be read as the corresponding reference in the second column of the table:First columnReferenceSecond columnCorresponding reference(i)an employera platform operator(ii)an employeea platform worker(iii)a trade uniona platform work association(iv)a trade union of employeesa platform work association of platform workers(v)a representative of an employera representative of a platform operator(vi)a representative of a trade uniona representative of a platform work association;

the following provisions do not apply to and in relation to platform operators, platform workers and platform work associations:Sections 16(a), 17(3) and (7), 18(2), 25(6), 31(b), (c) and (d), 33, 34(1)(b) and (c) and (2), 36, 79(2) and 81.(2) Parts 4 and 4A do not apply to and in relation to platform operators, platform workers and platform work associations.Division 2 — Provisions relating to awards for platform workers and platform operatorsDisputes relating to termination of platform work agreements77B.—

A Court is not to consider a dispute relating to the termination of a platform work agreement or make an award relating to the resumption of a platform worker’s provision of a platform service for a platform operator except in circumstances arising out of a contravention of section 77I.(2) Despite subsection (1), where a platform worker considers that his platform work agreement with his platform operator has been terminated without just cause or excuse by that platform operator, in circumstances other than those arising out of a contravention of section 77I, he may, within one month of such termination, make, through his platform work association, written representations to the Minister to resume providing a platform service for that platform operator.(3) The Minister may, before making a decision on any such representations, by writing under his hand request the Commissioner to inquire into the termination and report whether in the Commissioner’s opinion the termination is without just cause or excuse.(4) If the Minister decides to deal with the representations himself, the Minister must, before making a decision on such representation, give an opportunity to the platform operator to make written representations as to why the platform operator considered the termination of the platform agreement with the platform worker to be justified.(5) If, after considering the representations of the platform work association and of the platform operator (if any) and any report made by the Commissioner under subsection (3), the Minister is satisfied that the platform work agreement has been terminated without just cause or excuse, the Minister may, despite any rule of law or agreement to the contrary, direct the platform operator —

to allow the platform worker to resume providing a platform service for the platform operator and to pay the platform worker an amount that is equivalent to the earnings that the platform worker would have earned had his platform work agreement not been terminated by the platform operator; or

to pay such amount of earnings as compensation as may be determined by the Minister.(6) The platform operator must comply with the direction of the Minister under subsection (5).(7) The decision of the Minister on any representations made under this section is final and conclusive and is not to be challenged in any court or in a Court established under this Act.(8) Any direction of the Minister under subsection (5) operates as a bar to any action for damages by the platform worker in any court in respect of the wrongful termination of the platform work agreement.(9) A platform operator that fails to comply with the direction of the Minister under subsection (5) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction by a District Court to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.(10) Where an amount to be paid under subsection (5) is not paid in accordance with the direction of the Minister and the platform operator has been convicted of an offence under subsection (9), the amount, or so much thereof as remains unpaid, is recoverable by a District Court as if it were a fine and the amount so recovered must be paid to the platform worker entitled under the direction.Contents of award77C. In making an award in relation to a trade dispute relating to platform operators and platform workers, a Court —

is not to be restricted to the specific relief claimed by the parties or to the demands made by the parties in the course of the trade dispute but may include in the award any matter or thing which it thinks expedient for the purpose of settling the trade dispute or of preventing further trade disputes and may in fixing earnings or other remuneration give effect to its decision by prescribing deductibles, commission rates or fees to be paid by platform operators to platform workers or by such other prescription as it considers appropriate; and

may include provisions requiring a platform operator bound by the award to keep records relating to platform workers entitled to the benefit of the award and prescribing the form of such records and the information to be recorded.Exhibition of award77D.—

A platform operator bound by an award must cause true copies of the award and of all orders varying the award, or true copies of the award as varied from time to time, to be —

exhibited and kept exhibited —

at or near the entrance to any premises of the platform operator; and

at any other place to which platform workers of the platform operator have access as the award may specify,in such a position as to be conspicuous to and easily read by the platform workers; and

published and made available to the platform workers, in any manner or by any means as the award may specify that is conspicuous to and easily read by the platform workers.(2) A platform operator that contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction by a Magistrate’s Court to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.Contracts contrary to award77E. A platform operator or a person acting as an agent for a platform operator that makes a contract or an agreement for a platform worker to provide a platform service for the platform operator on terms and conditions less favourable to the platform worker than the terms and conditions of an award binding on the platform operator and platform worker shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction by a District Court to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.Breach of award77F.—

Any platform work association or person bound by an award that has committed any breach or non‑observance of any term of an award shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction by a Magistrate’s Court to a fine not exceeding —

in the case of a platform work association or platform operator — $5,000;

in the case of an officer of a platform work association — $1,000; and

in any other case — $1,000.(2) Where in any proceedings against a platform operator under this section it appears to the Magistrate’s Court that a platform worker who has provided a platform service for that platform operator has not been paid an amount which the platform worker is entitled to be paid as earnings or otherwise in accordance with an award, that Court may —

order the platform operator to pay to the platform worker the amount due to that platform worker either in a lump sum or by instalments; and

fix the date or dates on which the lump sum or instalments are to be paid.(3) Where an amount or instalment ordered to be paid under subsection (2) is not paid on the date fixed by the order, the amount or so much of that amount as then remains unpaid is immediately recoverable as if it were a fine and the amount so recovered must be paid to the platform worker entitled under the order.Commissioner’s power to inquire into complaints77G.—

The Commissioner may —

inquire into and decide any dispute between a platform worker and a platform operator bound by an award as to the platform worker’s entitlement to any payment by way of earnings or otherwise in accordance with the award; and

make an order in the prescribed form for the payment by either party of such sum of money as the Commissioner considers just without limitation of the amount thereof.(2) The provisions of the Employment Act 1968 relating to appeals from decisions and orders of the Commissioner under Part 15 of that Act and the mode of procedure for the making and hearing of claims under that Part and the joining of claims, subject to the modifications set out in subsection (11), shall apply to decisions, orders and claims made under this section.(3) No fees are to be charged by the Commissioner in respect of processes issued by the Commissioner under this section.(4) All orders made by the Commissioner, even though the same may in respect of the amount or value be in excess of its ordinary jurisdiction, are to be enforced by a District Court in the same manner as a judgment of that Court and all necessary processes may be served by that Court on behalf of the Commissioner.(5) No sale of immovable property for the purposes of such enforcement is to be ordered except by the General Division of the High Court.(6) If any person complains to the Commissioner that an order made under subsection (1) has not been complied with —

the Commissioner must take such action as is appropriate for the enforcement of the order; and

no court fees or deposits are chargeable in the first instance in respect of the enforcement of the order but the same are to be paid by the person against whom the order is enforced.(7) Where —

any person complains to the Minister, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister or to the Commissioner that a platform work association or person bound by an award has committed a breach or non‑observance of any term of an award;

the Minister, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister or the Commissioner has reason to believe that such a breach or non‑observance has occurred; or

the Minister, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister or the Commissioner wishes to inquire into any matter for which provision is made by an award or any dispute as to such matter,the Minister, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister or the Commissioner may summon any other person who he has reason to believe can give information respecting the matter.(8) The person summoned under subsection (7) is legally bound to attend at the time and place specified in the summons and to answer truthfully all questions which the Minister, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister or the Commissioner may put to that person.(9) Any person who in any way wilfully obstructs the service of or obedience to such summons, and any person summoned who neglects to attend as required by such summons, and any person who commits in respect of any such inquiry or complaint any offence described in Chapter 10 of the Penal Code 1871 shall be punished as provided in that Chapter.(10) If, upon inquiry under subsection (7), the Commissioner is informed by the Minister or by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister or is of the opinion that a breach or non‑observance of any term of an award has been committed, the Commissioner has the same powers to institute proceedings as he has under Part 15 of the Employment Act 1968 upon inquiry under that Part and the provisions of that Act relating to proceedings instituted by him under that Act, subject to the modifications in subsection (11), apply to and in relation to proceedings instituted by him under this subsection.(11) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (10), in the provisions of the Employment Act 1968 mentioned in those subsections, any reference mentioned in the first column of the following table is to be read as the corresponding reference in the second column of the table:First columnReferenceSecond columnCorresponding reference(a)an employera platform operator(b)an employeea platform worker(c)a member of a trade uniona member of a platform work association(d)an officer of a trade unionan officer of a platform work association.Division 3 — OffencesPlatform operators not to discriminate against members of platform work associations77H. Any platform operator that, in the engagement of persons to provide a platform service for the platform operator, discriminates against a person by reason of the circumstance that the person —

is or proposes to become an officer or a member of a platform work association or an association that has applied to be registered as a platform work association;

will, if engaged, be entitled to the benefit of a collective agreement or an award; or

has appeared as a witness, or has given any evidence, in any proceeding under this Act,shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction by a District Court to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.Injuring platform worker on account of industrial action77I.—

A platform operator must not —

terminate or threaten to terminate a platform work agreement with a platform worker;

cease or threaten to cease assigning to or facilitating for a platform worker, or prevent or threaten to prevent a platform worker from receiving or obtaining, any tasks to be performed in the provision of a platform service for the platform operator; or

reduce, restrict or limit or threaten to reduce, restrict or limit —

the earnings of a platform worker from providing a platform service for the platform operator;

the nature, quantity or value of any benefits that a platform worker receives or may receive, or is or may be entitled to, in relation to the platform worker’s provision of a platform service for the platform operator; or

the platform worker’s ability to receive or accrue any earnings mentioned in sub‑paragraph (i) or any benefits mentioned in sub‑paragraph (ii),by reason of the circumstance that the platform worker —

is, or proposes to become, an officer or a member of a platform work association or an association that has applied to be registered as a platform work association;

is entitled to the benefit of a collective agreement or an award;

has appeared or proposes to appear as a witness, or has given or proposes to give any evidence, in any proceedings under this Act;

being a member of a platform work association which is seeking to improve working conditions, is dissatisfied with such working conditions; or

is a member of a platform work association which has served a notice under section 18(1), as modified by section 77A, or which is a party to negotiations under this Act or to a trade dispute which has been notified to the Registrar in accordance with Part 3, as modified by section 77A.(2) A platform operator that contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction by a District Court to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.(3) Where a platform operator has been convicted of an offence punishable under subsection (2), the District Court by which the platform operator is convicted may —

order that the platform operator pay to the platform worker the amount of any earnings lost by the platform worker; and

direct that the platform operator —

where the platform operator has terminated the platform work agreement with the platform worker — enter into a new platform work agreement with the platform worker; or

in any other case — cease or not take any action mentioned in subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c) specified in the charge against the platform operator.(4) Where an amount or instalment ordered to be paid under subsection (3) is not paid on the date fixed by the order, the amount or so much of that amount as then remains unpaid is immediately recoverable as if it were a fine and the amount so recovered must be paid to the platform worker entitled under the order.(5) A platform operator that fails to comply with a direction given under subsection (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction by a District Court to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.(6) Nothing in this section is to be construed as prohibiting a Court from inquiring into the termination of a platform work agreement between a platform operator and a platform worker where the termination is allegedly in contravention of this section, or the resumption of the provision of a platform service by that platform worker for that platform operator, before any proceedings have commenced in a District Court.Injuring platform operator on account of industrial action77J. A platform worker who ceases to provide a platform service for a platform operator by reason of the circumstance that the platform operator —

is an officer or a member of a platform work association or an association that has applied for registration as a platform work association;

is entitled to the benefit of a collective agreement or an award; or

has appeared as a witness, or has given any evidence, in a proceeding under this Act,shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction by a Magistrate’s Court to a penalty not exceeding $1,000.”.Amendment of section 7823. In the IRA, in section 78 —

in subsection (1)(a), after “trade union”, insert “or platform work association”;

in subsection (1)(b), after “trade union”, insert “or platform work association, as the case may be”;

in subsection (2), after “a trade union”, insert “or platform work association”;

in subsection (2), after “the affairs of the trade union”, insert “or platform work association”; and

in subsection (2), replace “the trade union shall” with “the trade union or platform work association (as the case may be) shall”.Amendment of section 7924. In the IRA, in section 79 —

in the section heading, after “trade unions”, insert “or platform work associations”; and

in subsection (1), replace paragraphs (a) and (b) with —“(a)not to become —

a member or officer of a trade union or an association that has applied to be registered as a trade union; or

a member or officer of a platform work association or an association that has applied to be registered as a platform work association; or

to cease to be —

a member or officer of a trade union or an association that has applied to be registered as a trade union; or

a member or officer of a platform work association or an association that has applied to be registered as a platform work association,”.Amendment of section 8425. In the IRA, in section 84 —

in subsection (1), replace “82” with “77I, 77J, 82”; and

in subsection (2), replace “79” with “77I, 77J, 79”.Amendment of section 8726. In the IRA, in section 87(2), after “employer”, insert “, or a platform work association of platform workers may obtain recognition from a platform operator,”.