28 Feb 2020
Ref No.: 280220 (1)
UEN: S97SS0046G
Dear Valued ASPRI Members,
Public Consultation for WSH Guidelines on Managing Heat Stress in the Workplace // Practise Good Personal Hygiene to Fight COVID-19 // Tripartite Cluster for Cleaners announced enhanced training guidelines for resident cleaners with effect from 2022
Singapore’s climate is becoming warmer. Working in Singapore’s hot and humid weather puts workers at an increased risk of heat injuries. Heat stress, if not managed well, can lead to heat stroke and worker fatality.
The Workplace Safety and Health Council has revised the WSH Guidelines on Managing Heat Stress in the Workplace to cover heat stress in both outdoor and indoor work environments. This publication provides employers with an overview of the preventive measures that can be implemented to minimise the risk of heat injuries developing in workers when working in a hot environment.
The WSH Council welcomes suggestions to improve this Guidelines, and would like to seek inputs from the industry before finalising the publication.
The period of consultation is from 1 to 28 March 2020.
Please refer to the draft Guidelines here for reference and submit your comments by using the public consultation form to contact@wshc.sg by 28 March 2020.
Practise Good Personal Hygiene to Fight COVID-19
One of the best ways to fight COVID-19 at the workplace is to practise good personal hygiene habits:
- Wash your hands regularly.
- Avoid touching your face with your hands.
- Wear a mask only if you are unwell; if you are having a fever, cough, runny nose, or are recovering from an illness.
- Avoid social gatherings if you are unwell.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has created posters and videos, aimed at educating workers on the importance of practising good personal hygiene at the workplace. These resources also come in different languages, including Mandarin, Bengali, and Tamil. View the available resources to help your workers understand how they can fight COVID-19 here.
The Workplace Safety and Health Council would also like to urge all employers and employees to take precautionary steps according to advisories issued by MOM and the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Together, we can overcome COVID-19.
Read MOM’s advisories for employers here.
View the latest updates on COVID-19 on MOH’s website here
Enhanced training guidelines for resident cleaners to take effect in 2022
From 2022 onwards, as part of the enhanced Progressive Wage Model (PWM) training guidelines, all resident cleaners will acquire useful workplace safety and health (WSH) competencies through a WSQ Certification module.
Announced by the Tripartite Cluster for Cleaners (TCC), this is one of the several enhancements to the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for resident cleaners.
Currently, the PWM training guidelines stipulate that all resident cleaners are required to attend at least one core module under the Environmental Cleaning WSQ framework, which may not be related to WSH. The enhanced PWM training guidelines will ensure that all resident cleaners are purposefully equipped with the knowledge and skills to identify and assess WSH risks so that they could take greater WSH ownership and adopt safe work practices at work. This is a result of collaborative efforts by the WSH Council, the Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees’ Union, U Care Centre and the TCC to raise the WSH standards in the cleaning industry.
The enhanced PWM training guidelines will be incorporated as part of the cleaning business licensing requirement. Cleaning companies are also encouraged to send their non-resident cleaners to such training sessions.
