• NTUC’s campaign reinforces the importance of empowering workers to report potential workplace hazards and unsafe practices without retaliation, as a basic right.
• The launch event, which was held at SBS Transit’s Sengkang Depot, saw the ceremonial signing of a pledge by SBS Transit’s top management committing to an open reporting work culture.
• A learning journey was facilitated by SBS Transit that showcased Workplace Health and Safety (WSH) best practices in the company.
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) today launched its Workplace Safety & Health (WSH) 2023 campaign called “Spot, Stop and Report”, to promote a reporting culture where employees feel empowered to speak up for safety by reporting safety hazards before any near misses, incidents, and accidents occur without fear of retaliation. The campaign is also aimed at making reporting of safety breaches easier and educating workers on common workplace hazards to look out for. To this end, NTUC and its affiliated unions stand ready to uphold a worker’s right to safe working conditions.
The campaign, which will run for three months, comprises a series of printed and digital collaterals as well as videos to highlight to workers their right to report safety issues, educate them on common workplace hazards to look out for, and the ways they can lodge a report through the company’s reporting channels to help prevent workplace accidents. The company can then take actions to isolate the risk, investigate, and implement safety measures before allowing work to resume. In this way, all stakeholders can work together to prevent accidents and injuries from occurring.
NTUC’s WSH campaign is supported by tripartite partners including the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). Guest-of-Honour, Senior Minister of State (SMS) for Manpower Mr Zaqy Mohamad, graced the campaign launch event that was held at SBS Transit’s Sengkang Deport.
In SMS Zaqy’s opening speech, he highlighted the importance of every stakeholder within the value chain taking ownership of WSH to build a strong WSH culture. He shared that workers should feel safe to report unsafe workplace practices to their supervisors or union leaders, and highlighted how members of the public can also play a part by reporting any unsafe work conditions to MOM through SnapSAFE. Both NTUC Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) Melvin Yong and SBS Transit Group Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Sim also delivered speeches at the event.
NTUC ASG Melvin said, “It is imperative that we take a proactive and pre-emptive approach toward safety rather than a reactive one. It would be too late to make things safer only when an accident has occurred. By advocating the actions of spot, stop and report, we want to encourage workers to feel safe to report any workplace safety concerns to the management, without fear of retribution. The Labour Movement urges companies to take all feedback seriously, investigate each report thoroughly, and put in place the relevant prevention measures before an accident happens.”
Pledge Signing Ceremony by SBS Transit Committing to Open Reporting Culture
A ceremonial pledge signing committing to ensure an open reporting culture across SBS Transit’s offices was also held at the event. The signing was witnessed by SMS Zaqy, ASG Melvin, ASG Desmond Choo, and WSH Council General Manager Christopher Koh.
The signatories on the pledge were SBS Transit’s top management including SBS Transit Group Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Sim, CEO of Bus Business Lim Tien Hock, Head of North East Line (NEL) Anthony Mok, Head of (Downtown Line) DTL Lee Yam Lim, and Head of Bus Business Ivan Tan.
By signing the pledge, SBS Transit commits to:
Supporting the right of workers to call for a “Stop Work Order” if they deem any work unsafe.
Implementing the Last Mile Safety Programme 3.0 to empower employees to take ownership of their safety by educating them about workplace risks, hazards and safety measures.
The event was attended by SBS Transit management representatives and employees, Ministry of Manpower, Land Transport Authority, WSH Council, NTUC, and leaders from NTUC-affiliated unions.
Learning Journey at SBS Transit’s Train Simulator
Following the pledge signing ceremony, SMS Zaqy and invited guests were brought on a guided tour to SBS Transit’s train simulator for a virtual hands-on rail driving experience which was implemented to enhance WSH training of SBS Transit staffs so they will be better equipped with the skillset to respond to any emergencies, should any arise.
###
