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Sitecore Context Id: 96d9752c-948b-4c98-a637-41c783173e3f;
In his opening address at the bizSAFE Convention 2021, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Mr Zaqy Mohamad highlighted that there had been several fatal workplace accidents over the past week. We lost nine lives since mid-May. This brings the total number of fatalities in 2021 to 23.
NTUC is gravely concerned with the increasing number of fatalities at workplaces, especially as the preliminary investigations by the Ministry of Manpower revealed that many of these accidents were caused by very basic safety lapses which could have been easily prevented with adequate controls and adherence to established safe work procedures. During our ground visits, we have heard concerns that some worksites may be short of manpower, with workers having to cover unfamiliar tasks, of which they may not be adequately trained to do so.
In response, the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council has worked with six trade associations to conduct a Safety Time-Out or STO in short. NTUC and our union affiliates are supportive of this initiative which calls for companies to temporarily suspend work operations to take stock of the safety practices at their workplaces and to review the existing control measures. The Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees’ Union has already taken the lead in calling upon its unionised companies to conduct STOs. This includes urging the top management to look at conducting site walks and educating workers of WSH practices, reviewing the adequacy of current risk control measures, and ensuring that the control measures are implemented according to the risk assessment.
NTUC will be working with all our affiliated unions to push for STOs at all high-risk worksites. We can start by getting the WSH personnel to review site practices and risk assessments. With the new option of enrolling workers in online Safety Orientation Course training and assessment, companies are also encouraged to conduct workshops and meetings with workers to recap basic site safety and how workers can play their part in upholding good WSH standards.
Every Worker Matters and Every Life Matters. We must all do our best to ensure a safe workplace for all.
Melvin Yong
NTUC Assistant Secretary-General
