Deaths at construction sites fall in Q1, but ‘more can be done’

SINGAPORE — Although the construction sector saw one workplace death in the first quarter of this year, down from an average of six per quarter last year, more could be done to lower numbers further, Minister of State (Manpower) Sam Tan said.

Giving the latest figures yesterday at a workplace safety seminar organised by the Singapore Contractors Association Limited (SCAL), he added that there was a fatality rate of 4.9 per 100,000 employed persons last year, the lowest since 2007.

Last year, the sector saw 24 deaths, with 17 in the first half of the year and seven in the second half.

Mr Tan credited the decline to a collective effort by employers in the sector to improve workplace safety, as well as to the SCAL, which “worked tirelessly to conduct regular safety time-outs” with its members, and urged them to work towards the fatality rate target of less than 1.8 per 100,000 workers by next year.

While fatalities have gone down, major injuries in construction remained the highest across sectors last year.

There were 153 major injuries last year and 22 in the first quarter of this year.

Falls from heights and workers being struck by moving vehicles were still the leading causes.