MOM introduced stiffer enforcement penalties to improve WSH practices on the ground
There were 28 workplaces fatalities reported in the first four months of 2016, which is 30% more compared to the same period in 2015. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is concerned about the increasing number of workplace fatalities, despite its efforts to improve WSH by stepping up inspections and enforcements.
To address the declining WSH performance, MOM has introduced stiffer enforcement penalties which include tightening of the conditions to lift Stop-Work Order, strengthening the Business Under Surveillance Programme, and temporary suspension of work pass privileges for hiring new foreign workers.
MOM will also be working closely with the WSH Council to provide support to the industry with an enhanced on-site assistance programme, Safety Compliance Assistance Visits Plus (SCAV+). The programme will provide free support to companies that require help in identifying WSH gaps in their workplaces and improving the WSH management systems. MOM will also increase its outreach efforts to the workers by partnering with the Singapore Institution of Safety Officers (SISO) to raise awareness and educate them on key learning points from past fatal accidents.
To find out more about these announcements, click here to view the media release by MOM.
In Brief: Overall WSH statistics in the first quarter of 2016
The Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Institute has recently published the national statistics on WSH for the first quarter of 2016. The figures showed there were more workplace fatalities in the first quarter of 2016, compared to the same period in 2015.
Using infographics to highlight the key findings in brief, click here to see the top 3 sectors contributing to the fatalities and the leading incident types.