Good afternoon, Ladies and GentlemenÂ
Introduction
I am pleased to be here this afternoon to officiate at the Seminar on Occupational Safety and Health in the Hotel Industry.
As you may be aware, the Ministry of Manpower will be introducing the proposed Factories and Other Workplaces Act (FOWA) this year to extend the coverage of the existing Factories Act to protect persons employed in premises other than factories. This is a piece of legislation my colleagues in NTUC had been pushing for. When enacted, the Factories and Other Workplaces Act (or FOWA) will be introduced in two phases. Hotels, restaurants and canteens, healthcare establishments and biosciences and research laboratories will be covered in the first phase. The proposed Act will eventually cover all 2.1 million employees in the workforce, compared to the current 700,000 employed in factories covered under the current Factories Act.
There is a strong need to address safety and health issues in the hotel and restaurants industry. In 2001, there were 1,151 reported cases of injury by accidents that required at least one day of medical leave in the industry. This is 9.0 reported incidents per 1,000 employed. For manufacturing, the rate is 9.6 per 1,000 employed. So, in comparison, the injury rate in hotels and restaurants is quite high.
Presently only certain parts of the hotel, such as the laundry and the kitchen, are registered as factories. With the proposed Act, all the employees of the hotel will be protected. In preparation for the proposed Act, the Ministry of Manpower has held extensive dialogues and consultation with the Singapore Hotel Association, the Restaurant Association of Singapore, the Singapore National Employers' Federation, and trade unions.
The Singapore Hotel Association and the hotel industry have been very supportive. Together with the Ministry of Manpower and other relevant partners, they have initiated a number of programmes to address the safety and health issues in the industry. One of these is a new set OSH guidelines for the hotel industry. It will be launched at today's seminar.
Besides accidents such as falls and knocks, musculoskeletal disorders may result from work activities such as manual handling, awkward postures, repetitive movements or prolonged standing. Such work activities are not uncommon among hotel staff such as room attendants, bellmen, chefs, waiters and laundry operators. A study was conducted in 2002 by the Ministry of Manpower, the Back Society of Singapore, the Singapore Association of Occupational Therapists and the Singapore Physiotherapy Association to look into musculoskeletal symptoms and ergonomic risk factors among hotel employees. The findings will be presented in today's seminar. To prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders, good ergonomic work practices for specific occupations in the hotel have been included in the new OSH guidelines.
New OSH guidelines for the hotel industry
These new OSH guidelines will be very useful in providing information and guidance on the identification of work hazards and their prevention. The common workplace hazards and their preventive measures are described. Checklists are provided to assist hotel staff in identifying hazards in their specific departments.
The guidelines recommend that hotels plan and establish effective safety and health programmes. Both employers and employees have responsibilities for OSH in the workplace. While employers are responsible for developing such a programme, employees should be consulted for their feedback and ideas. Employees have a very important role to play in surfacing OSH issues and suggesting ways to further improve OSH in their workplace. Employers should encourage their employees to form safety improvement teams to promote employee participation in improving OSH in the hotel. Employees should participate actively in safety committee and other safety related meetings. Using these guidelines, employers can work together with employees to establish safety and health programmes that will result in a safe and healthy working environment in the hotel.
Training in OSH
The guidelines will also be a very useful resource. Information from the guidelines can be used for in-house education and training of hotel staff in identifying safety and health hazards and taking preventive measures. OSH training should be incorporated into existing training programmes for hotel staff.
Supervisors play a key role in ensuring and promoting good OSH practices and the training of supervisors is an important strategy in raising OSH standards in the industry. I am pleased to note that the Ministry of Manpower will be launching a new Safety Course for Supervisors in the Hotel & Catering Industry in April this year to equip supervisors with the relevant OSH knowledge. I would encourage supervisors in the hotel and catering industry to take this opportunity to be trained in OSH.
The purpose of today's seminar is to raise awareness among employers and employees in the hotel industry on the importance of occupational safety and health (OSH) and to introduce the new OSH guidelines for the industry. I am pleased to note the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Manpower, the Singapore Hotel Association, the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers' Union, the Singapore National Employers' Federation, the Back Society of Singapore, the Singapore Association of Occupational Therapists, the Singapore Physiotherapy Association and the hotel industry in organising today's seminar and in the development of the OSH guidelines.
This is an example of a strong partnership effort to raise OSH standards to provide better protection to our workers in the hotel industry. I am confident that this joint approach will lead to greater improvements in the overall OSH standards in the hotel industry in Singapore. Providing a safe and healthy working environment will protect hotel employees from accidents and occupational diseases and contribute to their well-being, morale, continued employment and productivity.
