Almost 12% Of P-Hailing Workers in Malaysia Have A Bachelor’s Degree

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) recently revealed the findings of a study it conducted on p-hailing workers in our country which garnered some intriguing results. The study sought to find out their age bracket, education level, earnings, working hours and more.

According to BERNAMA, in terms of the highest education level of p-hailing workers, the study found:

• Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM)/Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia Vokasional (SPMV) – 39.54%

• Diploma or equivalent – 23.24%

• Bachelor’s Degree – 11.79%

• No academic qualifications – 0.99% 

• Didn’t attend school – 0.21%

Source: The Star, 11/11/21

As for the age bracket, the study found that 97.71% of p-hailing workers are aged 15 to 30 while the remaining 2.29% are senior citizens aged 60 and above. The DOSM also revealed that 73.98% treated p-hailing as their main source of income. And 70.35% cent make it their main occupation.

Only 22.05% contributed to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF). Furthermore, 63.39% do not have any savings while the other 36.61% have their own savings or investments.

In terms of insurance, the study found that 45.07% have their own insurance policy while the rest did not. DOSM also noted that there was an increase in the income of p-hailing workers after participating in food and goods delivery. These include:

• RM1,501 to RM2,499 – 26.78%

• RM1,500 and below – 23.39 %

• RM2,500 to RM3,170 – 11.67%

According to DOSM, the working hours of p-hailing workers in a week show that the 3 highest categories are those who work between 49 hours to 84 hours (30.79%), 30 hours to 48 hours (25.84%) and less than 30 hours (25.42%). Furthermore, the study found that the top 5 reasons why they become p-hailing workers include covering daily expenses, helping the family, having flexible working hours, saving and not being bound by rules or employment contracts.

DOSM conducted the study between 1 March to 31 December 2022 and involved 6,657 respondents. Through the study, DOSM proposed 5 strategic areas covering 19 initiatives and 19 action plans. These include:

• Ensuring that the welfare of p-hailing workers is protected under labour legislation or the equivalent

• Providing appropriate complaint and communication channels to resolve disputes between service providers and workers

This is not a stable source of income or savings. The Government has to work harder in finding suitable employment for some of them. These people are vulnerable to loss of employment, accidents or health. Why can’t an appropriate Ministry monitor and assist these people? As a consumer, I benefit from their delivery of food or other items. But their reward mechanism may not reflect the risks involved.

On a separate note, e-hailing drivers have reduced the menace of the red and white taxis. If you drop the APs for taxis, little warlords have to conform to market forces. Could we drop APs and review the needs of those in e-hailing and p-hailing?

Reference:

Study: Almost 12% of P-hailing workers in M’sia have a Bacherlor’s Degree, Jamie, 

18 February 2023, The Star and Bacalah Malaysia