At the National Security Conference 2017 on 26 September 2017, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean announced that the Government will scale up efforts to enhance readiness of workplaces against terror threats through the SGSecure at Workplaces Programme.
Led by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the programme has identified five priority sectors – Food and Beverage, Retail, Entertainment, Hotels, and Transport – with the tendency to have a high concentration of people and therefore a higher likelihood of being targeted.
NTUC Deputy Secretary General Heng Chee How, who was present at the event, said: “Just as lightning strikes the point of least resistance, terrorism exploits the weakest points in the social fabric and defence arrangements. Unpreparedness, complacency and poorly coordinated responses will undermine resilience, sap morale and amplify helplessness in the face of attacks.”
Providing Guidance
The event also unveiled the SGSecure Guide for Workplaces jointly developed by MOM, NTUC, and other tripartite partners in consultation with employers and subject matter experts. The guide, which lays out concrete steps on what companies can do, will be disseminated progressively to some 151,000 active companies in Singapore from October 2017.
The public service sector will take the lead by training officers on first-aid and use of automated external defibrillators.
Layer of Security
Effective immediately, MOM, Ministry of Home Affairs, SkillsFuture Singapore and Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council have incorporated SGSecure elements into the first three levels of the bizSAFE certification framework. bizSAFE is a five-step programme that assists companies to build up their WSH capabilities.
The Government is targeting to have the 22,000 existing bizSAFE-certified companies plus an additional 5,000 companies meet the enhanced requirements by 2020 with the help of the trade associations and chambers.
“A lot of our companies are aware, but not many are ready with the capability to deal with eventual attacks by terrorist groups. For companies which want to send their workers for SGSecure training under the bizSAFE level two programme, MOM funds up to 90 per cent of the training cost or a cap of $500 per worker, so there is adequate financial and technical support,” said Minister of State for Manpower Sam Tan."
Good to Know
Companies, here are four easy steps to start your SGSecure journey:
