LETTER: The gig economy, referring to work dominated by free-floating projects, consultancies and part-time bits, is playing a major role the world over.
With the Covid-19 pandemic still a massive problem, one sector of the gig industry that has been contributing in a big way is the e-hailing service.
This involves quite a few delivery riders and Grab, a service that has recently become prominent due to current needs and circumstances.
For us here, delivery riders working under Foodpanda and GrabFood are frontliners too since there has been a restriction on movement to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Then there is the Grab service itself that helps people to move about around the city centre. Therefore, the authorities have to also consider infection and health risks faced by those in this sector during the pandemic.
Recent reports have revealed some concerns among the people in this sector about how some customers are disregarding the standard operating procedure (SOP) by not wearing face masks.
Also, e-hailing and food delivery workers are frequently in contact with many people in different areas daily, with some coming from red zones including Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor and Kelantan.
It is common sense, perhaps, for the authorities to move faster to inoculate delivery and Grab drivers in line with the aspiration towards a Covid-free nation, given the difficulty in controlling the spread of infection with recent spikes in cases leading to the current Movement Control Order 3.0.
Given the daily news about people not adhering to SOP, including those using Grab transport service, vaccinating them as a group or as frontliners like other essential services, is warranted.
It is also commendable for Grab to offer rebates to the elderly who don't have transport to go to vaccination centres for inoculation.
This is because a few reports have highlighted the fact that some elderly people either don't have a vehicle to go for their vaccination appointments after being told of the inoculation date, or don't have a relative to help them out in this matter.
Overall, taking into account safety measures to protect customers, passengers, riders and drivers in the e-hailing sector, a move to more swiftly inoculate delivery riders and drivers is necessary and the right thing to do.
RACHEL ONG
Johor Baru, Johor
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times