CONSTRUCTION AND SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRIES (Steps to reduce accidents)

Encik Abbas Abu Amin asked the Minister for Labour what steps are being taken by his Ministry to monitor and further reduce the accident rates in the construction and shipbuilding industries.

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, my Ministry has been closely monitoring safety in the construction and the shipbuilding and repairing industries. Regular and frequent inspections are being carried out at worksites and shipyards. For the first nine months of this year, about 3,400 inspections were made on worksites and 1,000 on shipyards.

For the construction industry, accidents of workers falling from heights and workers being hit by falling objects are still the two main areas of concern. To prevent these and other accidents at worksites, contractors are required to draw up and implement various safety programmes. Implementation of these programmes is closely monitored by inspectors of the Department of Industrial Safety. They also keep a close watch on the work of safety committees and safety supervisors who are responsible for ensuring safety at worksites.

For the shipyards, the emphasis is on the prevention of fires and explosions and falling from heights. Stringent safety control systems have been implemented to prevent such accidents. Inspections are made to ensure that they remain effective. Checks are also made to ensure that shipyards appoint qualified safety personnel and that the safety committees are effective.

My Ministry pays particular attention to provide safety training for workers, supervisors and managers in the construction and the shipbuilding and repairing industries. Special efforts are also made to promote self-regulation to reduce accidents in these two industries.