SINGAPORE - Continuing its drive to reduce and prevent workplace injuries here, the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council launched a video to encourage employers, workers, unions in all sectors, and the Government to aim for zero workplace accidents.
The Vision Zero video, produced by WSH, was launched at the inaugural WSH leadership convention in Resorts World Convention Centre on Thursday (Jan 20).
The fully animated video highlighted the importance of workers' well-being and safety, and how accidents can be prevented.
It is part of the Vision Zero movement, which was launched in 2018 with the Jurong Island Vision Zero (JIVZ) Cluster to advocate for workplace safety.
At the convention, the pledges of chemical industry leaders who committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for their employees were also presented.
Among the companies that pledged their commitment to a safer workplace were oil major ExxonMobil, Mitsubishi Chemical Methacrylates Singapore and Shell Eastern Petroleum.
Injury rates in the chemical industries have remained consistently low since 2017, averaging around 30 per cent less than the national injury rate, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad, who was present at the WSH leadership convention.
According to the Ministry of Manpower's 2020 Workplace Safety and Health Report, there was one fatal workplace injury in the manufacturing of petrochemical products in 2019 and three in 2020.
In his speech, Mr Zaqy recalled the 2015 explosion at Leeden National Oxygen laboratory in Jurong, which led to a fire. A chemist who had just returned from her maternity leave later died and several other employees were injured.
"Investigations found that the lab had several systemic lapses. These include failure to ensure modified regulatory valve assemblies were safe for use and failure to review safety procedures... Any life lost is one too many," said Mr Zaqy.
The JIVZ group had spearheaded initiatives to raise safety standards on Jurong Island, such as curating articles to update companies on WSH news, and incident sharing in an effort to prevent similar incidents from occurring.
Close to 30 pledges have been collected, said Mr Wim Roels, chairman of the WSH Council Committee for chemical industries.
"The pledge is a public declaration of your commitment in providing a safe and healthy work environment for all. Taking such accountability will spur your staff to also be responsible for their own safety and health at work, while looking out for their peers," added Mr Roels.
