More construction fatalities in the first half of this year

Acting Minister for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin (centre) visiting the Sentosa worksite where a supporting structure collapsed on Jan 29, 2014, leaving one dead and 10 injured. There were 17 fatalities in the construction sector in the first half of this y
Acting Minister for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin (centre) visiting the Sentosa worksite where a supporting structure collapsed on Jan 29, 2014, leaving one dead and 10 injured. There were 17 fatalities in the construction sector in the first half of this year, up from 11 fatalities over the same period last year. -- PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - There were 17 fatalities in the construction sector in the first half of this year, up from 11 fatalities over the same period last year.

Urging industry stakeholders to employ good safety practices, senior parliamentary secretary for manpower and education Hawazi Daipi said the Government plans to employ stiffer enforcement measures on workplace safety. These include imposing higher penalties and tightening conditions for the lifting of Stop Work Orders.

Mr Hawazi was speaking at the Construction Safety, Health and Security Campaign conference on Thursday.

"These statistics are more than just numbers. Behind each of these fatalities is someone's spouse, parent, child, friend or colleague. We simply cannot allow the situation to deteriorate further," he said.

About 300 built environment industry players attended the annual conference at the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability Institute, which was organised by the Singapore Contractors Association. The association also gave out four awards to contractors who came up with innovations to improve worksite safety conditions.

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