Inspections have started on close to 500 companies over possible combustible dust hazards in the wake of the Tuas industrial fire, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad yesterday.

To ensure better workplace safety and health, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will also release a framework later this year that emphasises safety performance for public sector construction tenders. This means that companies with a good safety record will have better access to business opportunities, Mr Zaqy said.

He added that the MOM will appoint an inquiry committee to thoroughly study the causes of the Feb 24 Tuas accident, which resulted in three deaths and multiple casualties. It is one of the worst accidents in recent years.

The committee will recommend prevention measures, including policy or regulatory changes if necessary, Mr Zaqy said.

"MOM is alarmed at the recent spate of workplace accidents. The ministry is investigating every incident and we call upon the whole industry to seriously review your safety protocols," he said during the debate on the ministry's budget in Parliament.

"We acknowledge that companies are facing manpower shortages due to border and pandemic controls," he said. "Nevertheless, companies must not compromise worker safety by rushing or having workers operate machinery or perform tasks that they are not trained for. They should also review their risk assessments to account for Covid-19 conditions."

He said the MOM has stepped up enforcement since mid-December last year. In the 510 inspections since then, it has uncovered 486 instances of contravention and issued seven stop-work orders.

Since last November, two safety time-outs have been called to improve safety protocols.

In January, the ministry rolled out an e-service to make construction companies' safety track records readily available, to motivate main and sub-contractors to improve their workplace safety. This is set to be expanded to other sectors for service buyers to influence workplace safety and health through their choice of contractors, Mr Zaqy said.

While Singapore has made progress, it cannot be complacent, he said.

Since the Nicoll Highway collapse in 2004, the workplace fatal injury rate here had fallen from 4.9 per 100,000 workers to 1.1 per 100,000 workers in 2019.

"This is a level achieved only by a handful of developed countries. Still, we must never be complacent, and must remain committed in our goal of making Singapore one of the safest workplaces in the world," Mr Zaqy said.