WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION (Number of claims filed)

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WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION:

(Number of claims filed): 10.

Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how many

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workmen's compensation cases were filed last year; (b) whether the number is increasing; and (c) how long does it take to process a claim for compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Act.

Mr Hawazi Daipi (for the Minister for Manpower): Sir, a total of 15,274 cases were filed in 2004. For the past five years, there is no increasing trend. On average, about 15,000 cases or 740 cases per 100,000 employees were reported each year although there was a slight rise of 7% from 14,304 cases in 2003, which is the lowest in the period of five years, to 15,274 cases in 2004. On average, my Ministry takes about nine to ten months to process and settle a case. Fatal cases constitute about 1% of total cases. In 2004, the average processing time for fatal cases involving local workers was five months, and 13 months for foreign workers. About 80% of the fatal cases were settled within six months.

Mdm Halimah Yacob: Sir, could the Senior Parliamentary Secretary give an explanation to the House as to why there is a big difference in terms of the time taken to settle a case between a local worker and a foreign worker, ie, five months and 13 months respectively?

Mr Hawazi Daipi: Sir, because this may be raised again in future, let me read from my notes, so that we understand this better.

There are several processes involved in bringing a case to conclusion, namely, screening, investigation, assessment, conciliation and adjudication. At each point, there would be problems. At the screening and investigation stage, we need to establish the facts pertaining to the accident and the liable party for the injury. In cases involving multiple layers of contractors, these could be complicated and could take longer. The Ministry relies on medical assessments by medical

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practitioners when assessing the amount of compensation for cases involving permanent disablement. It is a practice of medical practitioners to give an assessment on the percentage of permanent incapacitation only after the injured worker's condition has stabilised. So a medical report is filed after the permanent incapacitation has stabilised, and that may take time. Serious injuries will take a longer time to heal and, hence, the injured worker has to wait longer to get an assessment.

When the Commissioner makes an assessment, all parties involved, ie, the injured worker, his employer and his insurer, are given the opportunity to raise objections. Further investigations or medical reassessments would be required should an objection be raised. If settlement terms cannot be reached through conciliation, the case would be referred to the Labour Court for adjudication. Pre-trial conferences and hearings would then be conducted by the Labour Court to assess the compensation and to order the liable party to pay the compensation.

For fatal cases involving foreign workers, time is also needed to establish and locate their dependants. In cases where the documents establishing the relationship of the dependants are written in other languages, translation work is needed. This will add to the processing time.

Mdm Halimah Yacob: Sir, can the Ministry try to expedite the process, particularly for foreign workers, although I understand the steps that are needed to be taken. Because of the hardship that it causes to the worker, he has to remain in Singapore without any means of sustenance. If at least the process is shortened and more efforts are made to try and process their claim much faster, I think that will reduce their hardship.

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Mr Hawazi Daipi: Sir, I can assure the hon. Member that the Ministry officers always do that. They will try their best to expedite. There is no reason to delay the compensation or settlement of the claim. But we will do more than that. The entire process, we understand, takes a long time, and it is quite tedious. The Ministry is reviewing this process and, if necessary, we will amend the Workmen's Compensation Act to make the process more efficient, without compromising fairness to all parties concerned.