17 workplace fatalities in first half of 2019
Minister says companies must continue to build strong workplace safety culture
Seventeen workers died from workplace accidents in the first half of this year, the fewest since 2006 when the National Workplace Safety and Health numbers were first made available to the public. This is an improvement from last year which saw 18 cases in the same time period, out of a total of 41 for the whole year.
Singapore's workplace fatal injury rate has gone down over the years, from 4.9 per 100,000 workers in 2004 to 1.2 per 100,000 in the last two years.
The Tripartite Strategy Committee's 2028 goal is to reduce Singapore's workplace fatal injury rate to less than 1 per 100,000 by that time.
Companies must continue to be diligent as the construction sector expects a slew of mega projects, which in turn means bringing in more workers, said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo at the Workplace Safety and Health Awards at the Resorts World Convention Centre on Tuesday.
"Building a strong safety culture takes time," said Mrs Teo. "Our workplace safety and health improvement was only made possible because our tripartite partners were driven to enhance the livelihood and working conditions of our workers."
Companies should dedicate more resources to new and inexperienced workers who face a higher risk of injuries, to help them adapt to their work environments, she added.
Employers should also stay diligent, as "workers who are assured of their employers' commitment to take care of their safety and health will be motivated to give their best at work".
NO-BLAME CULTURE
Mrs Teo's speech highlighted several of the 168 award recipients out of 344 applicants, who had enhanced workplace safety and health. One of them was Kuan Aik Hong Construction, a 20-year-old company that has chalked up 1.5 million man hours (four years) without an accident. It received a Performance Award (Silver), its second so far.
To encourage workers to flag hazards as well as foster a no-blame culture, supermarket vouchers are presented monthly to its workers who report significant hazards.
Mrs Teo raised the example of 31-year-old Uddin Nizam, a site supervisor with the company, as someone "never afraid to report near misses for the safety of his co-workers".
Last year, Mr Nizam had found steel plates laid on soft ground, after rain overnight, covering an access ramp to an underground detention tank in an excavation site.
"Just as Nizam saw an excavator entering the excavation site, he quickly stopped all works and gathered the safety officers and site engineer to collectively review the site conditions," said Mrs Teo.
The team then removed the steel plates and also added reinforcements to provide more grip for the excavator.
"This shows how the no-blame culture at Kuan Aik Hong Construction encourages workers to stay vigilant and speak out on near misses," she said.
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