CONSTRUCTION SECTOR (Measures to reduce accidents)

Mr Ahmad Mohd Magad asked the Minister for Manpower what further safety measures are being considered to reduce accidents in the construction sector, in view of the increased number of accidents recently.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Mr Speaker, Sir, for the first half of this year (January to June 1999), a total of 753 accidents in construction sites were reported to my Ministry. This is an increase of 19 cases or 2.6% when compared to the same period last year. In terms of fatalities, 28 workers died in construction worksite accidents for the first half of this year. This is 11 (or 28%) less than the 39 workers who lost their lives over the same period last year. Although the number of fatalities has been reduced, the number of fatal accidents is still high and should be further reduced.

Over the last two years, the Ministry has taken a number of measures to help improve the safety situation in the construction industry. Some of the more significant measures include Safety Courses for Project Managers, the requirement for Safety Provisions in Contract Documents and the stepping up of enforcement action.

Last year, officers from the Department of Industrial Safety conducted a total of 179 special enforcement exercises on construction worksites in addition to the 4,581 routine inspections. The inspections led to 344 contractors being fined from $500 to $42,000 each and 54 occupiers were issued with Stop Work Orders for grossly unsafe work sites.

The Ministry is aware that safety issues confronting contractors must be addressed by the whole of the construction industry. Hence, there is a need to adopt a total systems approach involving contractors, construction professionals and developers to improve the safety situation in the construction industry. The Construction 21 (C21) study which my Ministry and the Ministry of National Development have undertaken with key partners of the construction industry will recommend measures aimed at addressing both the upstream and downstream processes to achieve higher safety at construction sites.

Notwithstanding the C21 study, my Ministry feels that more must be done by the contractors as employers to improve the situation. Investigations into accidents that occurred at worksites revealed that most of these accidents could have been prevented if only the contractors had provided the basic safety measures, such as barricading open sides, covering all openings to prevent workers from falling as well as objects from falling into these open areas and also improving on housekeeping. Contractors must know that they have the ultimate responsibility to ensure that there is a safe work place for their workers. As a further deterrent, my Ministry is now considering three additional measures.

Deterrent sentence for contractors

Under the Factories Act, a person who contravenes any provision of the Act that could lead to bodily injury of any person will face a maximum penalty of $10,000 or a jail term of six months, or both. The Ministry will not hesitate to press for deterrent sentence (including jail sentence) for individuals who are found to have blatantly disregarded safety rules.

Compulsory safety re-training of all worksite personnel

When a worksite is issued with a Stop Work Order, the Ministry will make it a condition to have all the personnel of the worksite undergo appropriate safety refresher training, before allowing work at the worksite to resume. This is to impress on the managers, supervisors and workers that unless the worksite is managed safely, work cannot resume.

Bar contractors from further employing Work Permit holders

Lastly, contractors who employ foreign workers are obliged to provide a safe and healthy work environment. If a contractor has a bad safety record, it is an indication that the contractor is not able to meet this obligation. Such contractors should not be allowed to engage more foreign workers. Hence, my Ministry will consider barring the contractor from employment of more work permit holders, i.e. no new work permits will be issued and renewal of existing work permits will not be allowed.

We have to take such firm action in order to further bring down the accident rate in the construction industry. 1.30 pm

Mr Speaker: Order. End of Question time.

[Pursuant to Standing Order No. 21(3), Question Nos. 12 to 46 on the Order Paper have been postponed to the sitting of Parliament on 4th August 1999.]