BUILDING OPERATIONS AND WORKS OF ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION REGULATIONS

2.56 p.m.

The Minister of State for Labour (Mr Sia Kah Hui) (for the Minister for Labour): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the motion standing in the name of the Minister for Labour, namely,

That this Parliament, pursuant to subsection (3) of section 66 of the Factories Act (Chapter 123, 1970 Edition), resolves that the Building Operations and Works of Engineering Construction Regulations, 1971, made on the 18th day of March, 1971, and published as Notification No. S 96 in the Gazette Subsidiary Legislation Supplement No. 21 of 26th March, 1971, as contained in Paper S.L. 16 of 1971, be approved.

Sir, over the past few years, my Ministry has been very perturbed and greatly concerned at the steady rise in the number of accidents occurring in the building and engineering construction industry. Statistics show that 279 accidents occurred in the industry in 1969, and in 1970 this figure rose to 376, a rise of nearly 35 per cent.

In the first six months of 1971, reports of 166 accidents have been received. What is even more tragic is the number of persons killed as a result of these accidents. In 1969, 17 persons were reported killed in the building and engineering construction industry. In 1970 it was 19. Until June this year, nine fatal accidents have been reported.

The above figures illustrate the urgent need for the adoption of higher standards of safety measures in the building and engineering construction industry. But experience has shown that mere exhortations and appeals to the goodwill of the employers and the good sense of the workers to be more safety conscious have been of little avail. My Ministry is therefore of the view that definite guidelines are necessary. The Regulations now before the House not only strengthen the provisions of the Factories Act relating to the health, safety and welfare of the workers, but also provide for safety measures of special application to the building and engineering construction industry. The cardinal principle enunciated in these Regulations is that the required safety measures for any project or construction work should be incorporated right from the design stage and not left to be added on as an afterthought or when accidents have already occurred. The basic provisions for safety should therefore be `i major consideration at all stages and levels of planning and implementation.

The Regulations also stress the need for qualified and competent persons to erect or set up the requisite safety measures and to make frequent inspections to ensure that these are properly maintained and correctly used. The Regulations not only require the employer to provide safe working conditions but also make it the duty of every employee to co-operate in carrying out the Regulations.

It is hoped that with the implementation of these comprehensive, unequivocal and stringent Regulations, workers in the building and construction industry will enjoy a greater measure of safety at their working places and also enjoy a higher standard of health.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

3.02 p.m.

Mr Hwang Soo Jin (Jalan Kayu): Mr Speaker, Sir, it is all very well to have all the rules and regulations, but how about their enforcement? I think the Factory Inspectorate is not adequately staffed. I am just wondering what is the latest position regarding the staffing of the Factory Inspectorate. Will the Minister please inform the House?

Mr Sia Kah Hui: Mr Speaker. Sir, at the last sitting of Parliament, if I remember correctly indications were given that a special Establishment Warrant would be issued to get the necessary staff. I am glad to say that that has already been done, and that almost all the vacancies sc established have been filled.

3.04 p.m.

Inche Abdul Aziz Karim (Kallang): Mr Speaker, Sir, industrialisation and the process of construction have attendant hazards. In Singapore, industrialisation and construction work are going on rapidly. The consequence of a disregard of the safety rules to achieve a target is the cause of the rising number of industrial accidents in recent times. This is recognised in the President's speech. I am particularly happy to make an observation of the introduction of the Building Operations and Works of Engineering Construction Regulations which would provide, among other things, comprehensive measures and requirements designed to safeguard the health and safety of workers at the building and engineering construction work sites. These Regulations are most necessary and timely. As is recognised by the Government, the number of accidents in this particular field has been the highest. It can be expected that in the race against time to complete building projects, the accident rate in this area will increase. For instance, the competition among hoteliers to be the first to catch the tourists has caused the people concerned in the building project to disregard all safety rules and precautions necessary for the safety of the workers.

There was, for example, an instance at the Mandarin Hotel construction site where two men fell to their death within a short space of time. After the first death, the workers asked for some safety measures to be taken. Their request fell on deaf ears. After the second fall, the workers stopped work. No one could blame them for the stoppage. In fact, with so much disregard for safety by the contractors. I think we could well have some more stoppages. We could not blame the workers for their militancy in this respect. In this regard, when a trench wall collapsed at the construction site of Chartered Industries I think this is a company owned by the Government a worker was buried and killed by an avalanche. The workers downed tools, they said, as a mark of respect for their dead colleague. I think it is not only good wages and bonuses that the workers should be concerned with, but also their safety and health. Therefore, safety and health standards must be maintained at the highest possible level, and the introduction of these Regulations is most welcome to the National Trades Union Congress though the workers in the building and construction field are not organised. In this regard, I think the Chief Inspector of Factories should pay some particular attention to reduce the safety hazards, which the workers face day by day. It is immaterial whether they are citizens or non-citizens. There are some 10.000 citizens, I believe, who are engaged in construction work. For humanitarian reasons, I think more attention should be paid to reduce the safety hazards, which the workers in the engineering construction field face.

I would like to make another point. Attempts should be made to correct attitudes towards the question of safety. We can find one thousand and one excuses to ignore safety hazards. Among the excuses there is one quite commonly given when a rational answer cannot be found to a problem whether it is in respect of culture or safety - that it is our Asian way of life. I think we could well profit by adopting some Western habits. There was one incident, which comes to my mind. When I was in Canada in 1963, as a V.I.P., I was brought to a construction site because the union boss there wanted to show me the pride of his town. My host took me to inspect the showpiece of his union. Hardly had we been in the building for five minutes when I heard a loud voice shouting like "Get out" several times. My host, the union boss tried to explain to the foreman, "We have a V.I.P.". That explanation was totally disregarded. He was shouted down and practically abused. We got out of the building. After he had cooled down, the foreman heard the union boss' explanation. Very politely, he brought us in after he had ordered some helmets for us. This is the kind of attitude which foremen or mandores engaged by contractors in our own building and construction site; should have. Unfortunately, they have not.

All I can say is that the N.T.U.C, welcome these Regulations. We have made a study of them and I think we could have a period of experimentation, and, if need be, make the necessary amendments as a result of experience.

Mr Sia Kah Hui: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am in entire agreement with the sentiments expressed by the Member for Kallang. I think the staff of the Ministry of Labour, like any other citizen or non-citizen for that matter, is aware of the importance of measures to save lives and of preventing accidents happening anywhere.

Question put, and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this Parliament, pursuant to subsection (3) of section 66 of the Factories Act (Chapter 123, 1970 Edition), resolves that the Building Operations and Works of Engineering Construction Regulations, 1971, made on the 18th day of March, 1971, and published as Notification No. S 96 in the Gazette Subsidiary Legislation Supplement No. 21 of 26th March, 1971, as contained in Paper S.L. 16 of 1971, be approved.