Workplace safety or harassment? LTA engineer's outburst at foreign worker goes viral

A video of a Land Transport Authority (LTA) engineer reprimanding a contractor's staff member about safety requirements has gone viral, sparking a statement from LTA and a debate about what constitutes workplace harassment.

According to a reader who wrote in to Stomp, the incident is said to have taken place at the Changi East Depot construction site on the morning of Aug 22.

A post shared on Facebook group SG Road Vigilante about the incident also said the incident occurred at 601A Tanah Merah Coast Road.

A video posted by TikTok user lunachloe0573 on Aug 24, shows two workers wearing yellow helmets standing at attention as their supervisor, in a white helmet, bears down on them with harsh words.

Singapore's laws state that the colour of one's safety helmet denotes a worker's position - white helmets are worn by owners, architects, engineers, and site staff members, while yellow helmets represent workers without supervisory roles.

Addressing one of the workers, the man wearing the white helmet says: "Never wear seat belt? Is this your first day? Where's your driving license?"

While the worker responds with slight nods, the situation escalates as the man - subsequently identified by LTA as an engineer - hits him on the helmet with a driving license, shouting: "Issued on 2023. How did you learn your license?"

He continues to berate the worker, demanding: "What did the school teach you? No need to buckle, is it?", before proceeding to throw the license on the ground.

Throughout the scolding, the two workers remain silent.

The post had garnered over 302,000 views and a hundred comments at press time, as netizens chimed in on the video's central question: "Is this considered workplace harassment?"

Worker confirms incident

A man identifying himself as a worker from the construction site wrote in to Stomp and said that the reprimanded staff member had not worn his seat belt while driving, which triggered the confrontation.

"At least respect the Bangladeshi workers. We are all human. If there are no foreign workers, Singapore won't be Singapore," the worker told Stomp.

He also pointed out that the LTA engineer's helmet was also not worn properly, noting that the chin strap should be worn behind the ear.

LTA does not 'condone such behaviour'

In a statement posted on LTA's Facebook page on Aug 25, the agency said it was aware of the incident, explaining that an engineer was "addressing safety lapses at the worksite" but deemed his behaviour "inappropriate".

It added that the engineer has been counselled and that he has apologised to the staff member.

Netizens stand behind engineer's actions

Some netizens defended the engineer's adherence to safety regulations, stating that it should be an "utmost priority".

"He did his best to ensure safety. Well done!" one user commented.

Others agreed that discipline is key, given the nature of the industry: "That's effective management of how to get things done, if you know the industry. To save the lives of the workers, nothing is too harsh."

Another echoed: "We only see one side of the story. Do you expect the instructor to sweet talk when lives will be at stake if an act of carelessness happens?"

Others think it is 'totally unacceptable'

Other netizens felt the supervisor had gone overboard.

One user responded: "This is totally unacceptable! This supervisor should be fired with a heavy fine and compensate these workers."

While acknowledging the worker's mistake, another user commented: "Though they are in the wrong, his behaviour is callous. No right to treat fellow workers with such obnoxious behaviour."