Grab to invest S$4mil every year in response to drivers & riders’ call for better welfare

In some good news for Grab partners, come 2025, the multinational tech company will be significantly upgrading its holistic welfare programme for driver and delivery workers.

Called GrabBenefits 2.0, this initiative will see Grab committing an annual investment of S$4 million to support the welfare of its platform workers in Singapore.

Its press release states that the benefits programme addresses the top concerns of partners, including:

These upgrades come after the unicorn gathered feedback from focus groups in the Grab partner community. Key concerns they highlighted were rising medicine costs, reducing downtime from illness, and physical ailments that weren’t covered by doctor visits.

According to the brand, GrabBenefits 2.0 is meant to complement the new labour protections under the Platform Workers Act. This act was passed just last month and spotlighted concerns for the well-being of ride-hailing and food delivery workers. 

The announcement was made on October 3, 2024 at the GrabBenefits 2.0 health and wellness day, where over 300 of its partner workers enjoyed free health screenings and discounts on products and services.

“We launched the first version of our GrabBenefits programme back in 2018. With the latest industry development, it is timely for us to revamp our programme to ensure the benefits we offer partners are meaningful and relevant. Majority of our partners told us they would like greater support in managing healthcare expenses, and this is why GrabBenefits 2.0 will offer more subsidies in this area,” said Yee Wee Tang, Managing Director, Grab Singapore. 

“Our enhanced benefits, together with the new regulatory protections, will offer a holistic end-to-end care package for partners that covers both their immediate and long-term needs.”

A breakdown of Grab’s new end-to-end care package for workers

Starting January 1, 2025, Grab’s driver and delivery partners will gain access to the following benefits. 

Note that these are in addition to the existing perks spanning insurance, fuel discounts, and career development opportunities through GrabAcademy.

1. Subsidies for doctor visits and new access to telemedicine services

Eligible partners need only co-pay S$5 for a medical bill of S$50 when visiting a general practitioner (GP) or engaging in telemedicine services. This is available for two visits a year, where partners will have access to over 700 GP clinics and telemedicine providers.

2. Complimentary preventive healthcare services

Selected partners will be sponsored flu vaccinations once a year to provide them with additional protection against the virus.

3. Complimentary wellness services

In addition to discounted spine check ups, partners are offered free massages at least once every quarter. This will be offered via an all-new GrabBenefits Partner Welfare Van, which will rove around the neighbourhoods of partners. Doing so reduces travel and increases convenience for drivers and delivery workers.

4. Complimentary Platform Work Associations membership

To encourage Grab partners to join the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) Platform Work Associations, new member sign-ups will be sponsored for six months of the membership. For context, the associations can represent and assist Grab partners on work issues, and provide tangible support to them and their families through care schemes, savings at NTUC social enterprises, and training grants.

Guest-of-honour NTUC Secretary-General, Ng Chee Meng, said at the event, “Today’s launch of the upgraded GrabBenefits 2.0 programme is an important step for platform workers’ welfare. NTUC and our associations – the National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA) and the National Delivery Champions Association (NDCA), are proactively paving the way with partners like Grab for better support systems.” 

“It is encouraging to see Grab taking our associations’ and workers’ feedback seriously and this shows that when platform operators and workers’ associations come together, we can make meaningful progress.”

Featured Image Credit: Grab