Those tragedies added up to a rate of 2.9 deaths per 100,000 workers here - a slight improvement on previous years.

Not good enough, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday.

He wants employers to try a lot harder to avoid fatalities on the job, whether it is construction workers falling to their deaths, or industrial workers crushed by machinery.

He has set them a target of slashing the death rate to 1.8 per 100,000 workers within 10 years.

If they succeed, Singapore will be one of the safest countries in the world for workers.

Noting that Singapore is on track to meet an earlier target of 2.5 deaths per 100,000 workers by 2015, Mr Lee said: 'I think we should set a more ambitious goal, to reduce the rate to 1.8 within a decade.

'We should aim not only for as good a safety record as the developed countries, but to have one of the best workplace safety records in the world,' he said.

Getting there calls for new effort by employers and workers alike.

'We must convince employers that a safe and healthy workplace makes good business sense,' Mr Lee said.

And workers must know that 'it is their right to a safe environment and their responsibility not to endanger the lives of others'.

A new council named yesterday will lead the way.

The Workplace Safety and Health Council, chaired by Shell Singapore chairman Lee Tzu Yang and made up of academics, unionists and corporate chiefs, will roll out codes of practice in two areas by the year's end - the safe use of machines in manufacturing, and the supervision of construction work.

It will set guidelines on how supervisors can step up safety measures at construction sites and ensure they are followed.

Companies are not legally bound to follow the codes, but may find themselves answering tough questions in court if an accident happens and they are investigated for negligence.

'It may not be mandated but the companies will have to think very seriously about why they rejected following it,' Mr Lee said.

To spread the word, the National Workplace Safety and Health campaign exhibition began yesterday and will go to more than 100 workplaces across Singapore.

Industry players interviewed said the main challenge to workplace safety is manpower shortage.

Said Singapore Contractors Association president Desmond Hill: 'People want the best returns and want projects to be completed fast, but there are just insufficient workers. Most workers are already working overtime.'

Added safety specialist Krishnan Soundara Rajan: 'If workers are tired, they cannot focus on their jobs and when there are no supervisors overseeing, they may even try to cut corners to get the job done fast.'

xueying@sph.com.sg

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JERMYN CHOW