WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (WSHA)

WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (WSHA):

(Update on accident records): 14.

Mr Ong Ah Heng asked the Minister for Manpower (a) if he will provide an update on accident records following the implementation of the Workplace Safety and Health Act (WSHA); and (b) whether his Ministry has included all economic sectors under the WSHA.

Mr Hawazi Daipi (for the Minister for Manpower): Since the Workplace Safety and Health Act took effect from 1st March 2006, we have made good progress in improving workplace safety and health outcomes in Singapore. The number of work related fatalities fell from 71 in 2005 to 62 in 2006. Correspondingly, the workplace fatality rate in 2006 was 3.1 per 100,000 workers, a 22% reduction from 4.0 per 100,000 workers in 2005 and a reduction of more than one-third from 4.9 in 2004. There has also been a reduction in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period last year. Nevertheless,

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we must press on with our efforts, as long as workers still meet with death and injury at work.

As I announced in Parliament last year when the Workplace Safety and Health Act was passed, the Act will cover workplaces across all sectors in three to five years. This will be done in phases in consultation with industry, to ensure a sustainable buildup and to allow reasonable time for companies to build their capabilities to comply with the Act.

At present, the Act largely covers factories, construction sites and shipyards. The next phase of workplaces to be covered under the Act will be rolled out on 1st March 2008. The six new sectors either have higher accident rates or are sectors where the potential consequences of any accident can be serious. These selected sectors are:

(i) Services allied to the transport of goods, such as logistics, freight forwarding and cargo surveying services;

(ii) Landscape care and maintenance service activities, such as grass-cutting;

(iii) Water supply, sewerage and waste management, such as refuse disposal;

(iv) Hotels and restaurants;

(v) Healthcare activities, such as hospitals; and

(vi) Veterinary activities.