Address structural issues to reduce workplace deaths
How safe do workers feel about their workplaces, and do their perspectives match the MOM’s inspections or the accounts provided by companies? Photo: Bloomberg
I refer to the report “Tougher penalties for firms that flout safety, health rules” (May 13).
The 28 fatalities between January and April — six more than the same period last year, with 12 cases in the construction sector and five in the marine sector — marks the continuation of an unhealthy trend since the second half of last year.
Despite efforts by the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council, for instance, 16 workers fell to their deaths in the first 10 months of last year, six more than the whole of 2014.
Together with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the WSH Council endeavoured to do more through awareness campaigns and clinics. Yet, based on the number of cases, little progress seems to have been made.
In a similar vein, the MOM and the WSH Council may point to its four-pronged approach of enforcement, capability building, setting standards and engagement. The tougher penalties now for flouting safety and health rules are consistent with that.
Minister of State (Manpower) Sam Tan said: “Despite all the stepped-up enforcements and inspections, the number of workplace fatalities is still increasing. That says something about the attitude of the companies and the people working at the worksites.”
Present policy recommendations assume that harsher measures will compel companies to improve their safety systems, but what if the problems are more structural, framed perhaps in the form of incentives?
Companies may think they can get away with transgressions, or lax standards are more prevalent in particular industries. Beyond generic or even anecdotal plans, evidence-based approaches may thus be more useful.
Are accidents or fatalities more prevalent in certain industries, on a per worker or per company basis? How safe do workers feel about their workplaces, and do their perspectives match the MOM’s inspections or the accounts provided by companies?
And what are the safety targets established by the MOM and the WSH Council? What are the expectations for the new measures?
