Look for safe way to ferry foreign workers to work

An accident on Monday morning involving two lorries resulted in a fairly large number of workers becoming injured (26 people injured in accident involving two lorries in Tuas; ST Online, Oct 30). Four of them were hospitalised.

On Oct 28, there was another accident involving a lorry ferrying workers. One of them is understood to have suffered a fractured arm (5 foreign workers taken to hospital after lorry they were in skids on PIE; ST Online, Oct 28).

Other similar accidents have resulted in workers being killed.

As of June, there are close to 300,000 workers working here under construction work permits alone.

Other industries also transport workers in a similar fashion.

The Manpower Ministry has tightened rules for reporting work-related accidents, but this should not be the solution to worker safety.

Would it not be possible for the authorities to stop transporting workers at the back of lorries, as they expose the workers to risks on a daily basis?

Already, they expose themselves to risks at work; why can't they at least be ferried to their workplace safely?

We can have a grace period to allow the workers to be transported in buses.

Amriq Ali Mohamed Bashir

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