METAL-WORKING INDUSTRY

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang asked the Minister for Manpower whether there are plans to improve safety record in the metal working sector.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: The safety record of the metal-working industry is indeed a cause for concern when compared to other industries. The accident frequency rate (AFR), which is the number of accidents per million man-hours worked was 3.4 for 1997. While it had improved to 3.2 in 1999, this AFR is still higher than the figure of 2.4 for all industries in 1999.

My Ministry is working closely with the industry to organise safety and health promotional activities. These include the annual safety campaign in October, safety seminars and workshops and a mobile exhibition highlighting past accidents and appropriate remedial measures. A safety training course for supervisors, comprising 13 modules was developed for the industry. In 1999, a CD-ROM on Safety orientation programme for workers was also developed. A series of 7 Handbooks to help workers and supervisors to improve work safety were also produced and distributed to the industry.

My Ministry has formed Advisory Committees on Accident Prevention for both the construction industry and the shipyards. These Committees provide a good platform for the discussion of safety and health issues and organising activities and programmes to reduce accidents in the two industries. My Ministry is looking into forming an Advisory Committee for the metal-working industry to further improve safety and health in this industry.

In 1994, we made the implementation of a safety management system a mandatory requirement for shipyards. Since then, the safety records in shipbuilding and ship-repairing industry have improved significantly. The Ministry is considering making it mandatory for bigger metal-working factories to implement similar safety management systems.