Global Dialogue in Singapore seeks standards for measuring digital platform work

Over 150 policymakers, statisticians, researchers, social partners, and platform operators from more than 20 countries gathered in Singapore on 29 September 2025 for the Global Dialogue on Digital Platform Work. The high-level event, co-hosted by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Singapore’s Manpower Research and Statistics Department (MRSD) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), marked a critical step toward establishing harmonised international statistical frameworks for digital platform employment (DPE).

Closing global data gaps in platform work

Digital platform work has rapidly expanded worldwide, ranging from ride-hailing and delivery services to freelance coding, design, and consulting. Yet, the sector remains poorly understood due to the absence of internationally agreed standards and definitions. Its often sporadic and diverse nature makes it difficult to capture through traditional labour force surveys.

Without robust measurement, policymakers risk designing blunt policies that fail to address the specific challenges and opportunities platform workers face. Key concerns include:

• Worker protection gaps, particularly around injury compensation, housing, and retirement adequacy.

• Income and employment instability, especially for those in lower-wage segments.

• Barriers to career mobility for freelancers seeking global opportunities.

• Cross-border implications, as platform work increasingly intersects with international trade and labour mobility.

Reliable, comparable data across countries will therefore be essential to inform evidence-based policies that safeguard rights while fostering economic growth in the digital era.

Singapore’s leadership in platform work data

Singapore has emerged as one of the first countries globally to conduct annual national surveys on platform work, starting in 2016. Insights from these surveys have informed major policy reforms, most notably the Platform Workers Act, which was introduced earlier in 2025 to strengthen worker protections and ensure fairer representation for delivery riders, ride-hailing drivers, and other platform workers.

“Digital Platform Employment is growing rapidly, and international measurement standards must keep pace,” said Ng Chee Khern, Permanent Secretary, MOM. “By preparing early – as we did with delivery and ride-hailing workers a decade ago – we can ensure timely data and policies for this next wave of platform work. Looking ahead, we must also track higher-skilled roles, not just lower-income segments.”

Singapore’s proactive engagement at the 21st International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in 2023, where MOM and the ILO presented a joint working paper on measurement challenges, directly led to the creation of an expert group on digital platform work. The current dialogue builds on this momentum, fostering multilateral collaboration ahead of the 22nd ICLS in 2028, where proposed standards for measuring DPE will be tabled.

ILO’s call for global standards

ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo underscored the urgency of coordinated international action:

“Digital platform employment has reshaped the world of work, creating new opportunities but also challenges regarding protection and rights. As platforms scale globally, so must our measurements. Now is the time for international standards, so we have the comparable data needed to uphold rights, extend social protection, and advance decent work while promoting economic potential.”

Houngbo stressed that reliable data will be critical to support the ILO’s ongoing work on standard setting for decent work in the platform economy, ensuring workers remain visible, valued, and fairly represented in future policy frameworks.

Towards a fair and future-ready platform economy

The Global Dialogue in Singapore highlighted three core priorities:

1. Generating better data – capturing the full range of activities from delivery riders to professional freelancers.

2. Strengthening protections – ensuring platform workers are covered by social protection and employment standards.

3. Driving collaboration – building shared international frameworks to regulate cross-border platforms and labour mobility.

By convening diverse stakeholders for cross-border dialogue and knowledge exchange, the event has set the stage for stronger global governance of platform work. The discussions will help ensure that platform workers are not left behind in the digital economy, but instead benefit from fairer, more inclusive, and future-ready policies.

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