Rise in number of workplace fatalities 'alarming': Melvin Yong
Number this year stands at 30 after man crushed to death by a container at Pioneer worksite on Friday
The number of fatal incidents in the workplace this year stands at 30 after a Singaporean man was crushed to death by a container at a Pioneer worksite last Friday.
Radin Mas MP Melvin Yong, in a Facebook post yesterday, said the tally so far is the same as the total number of workplace deaths last year. Mr Yong, who is also NTUC assistant secretary-general, said: "This is a grim milestone that none of us would wish to reach."
He added the nine deaths in construction and the eight deaths in the logistics and transportation sector account for more than half of this year's reported workplace fatalities. The lives lost to workplace accidents, he said, are not just a statistic.
"The workers leave behind loved ones, mouths to feed, and questions to be answered."
The latest workplace fatality comes amid an ongoing inquiry into the explosion at Stars Engrg in Tuas on Feb 24, in which three people died and seven other workers were injured.
The Inquiry Committee, chaired by Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun, was appointed on March 2 to look into the causes of the fatal explosion and fire, which involved a mixer machine used by the fire protection company to create a clay-like substance for its products.
Over two weeks last month, a total of 15 people testified, including the seven injured workers who survived. So far, questions in the inquiry have focused on a series of red flags beginning months before the explosion, which included smoke emissions, leaks and fires involving the mixer.
Mr Yong said: "The ongoing inquiry has raised worrying practices such as ignoring red flags and improper use of machinery."
He said he hoped that companies can learn to take red flags more seriously, through the findings of the inquiry committee into the explosion.
He also hoped companies would take real action to resolve them before these red flags result in accidents involving serious injury or loss of life.
RE-ASSESS
Mr Yong urged firms in the construction industry, as well as those in the logistics and transportation sectors, to learn from recent accidents, stop and re-assess their risk assessment, and quickly put in place measures on-site to plug any gaps in safety.
He said: "NTUC Singapore will be working with the relevant affiliated unions to push out more reminders and advisories to workers to increase their alertness at the worksite and to help look out for one another's safety and well- being.
"We can, and must, do more to stop this alarming rise in workplace fatalities because every worker matters and every life matters."
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