MOM to engage firms to lower disease, accident risk
Mental health support to also be enhanced, among recommendations by advisory panel
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The panel recommended that employers make their expectations for communications after office hours clear to employees.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Charmaine Ng
To better protect workers from infectious diseases and workplace accidents, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will work closely with employers and building owners on managing risks and staying vigilant.
Workers will also get better mental health support, with a free online assessment tool called iWorkHealth to be launched early next year to help employers identify sources of work stress, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Defence Zaqy Mohamad yesterday.
These were recommendations by the International Advisory Panel for Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) for a post-Covid-19 world and have been accepted by the Government, he added.
Speaking at the closing of the two-day virtual Singapore WSH Conference, he noted that as the pandemic changes the way businesses operate, with more people working from home, workplace safety and health must also be adjusted to address new concerns.
Given the risk of a future "disease X" that may be more infectious and lethal than Covid-19, the panel suggested that the ministry build on its experience working with public health authorities, through the multi-ministry task force, to integrate infectious disease management in the workplace.
To achieve this, the Government will work closely with employers and building owners to develop guidelines, such as sharing information on hot spots, for more targeted risk identification and interventions, said Mr Zaqy.
The panel also recommended greater mental health support at work, with companies encouraged to incorporate mental well-being as part of their risk assessment and management frameworks.
Panel member Wiking Husberg, an international consultant on occupational safety and health, said mental health is important to workers' and firms' productivity, but is a difficult area to legislate.
"Singapore ought to focus on promoting greater awareness and creating a supportive work organisation and environment that is conducive towards employees' mental well-being," added Mr Husberg.
On Tuesday, a tripartite advisory for mental well-being at work was issued on how companies can support their workers' mental health.
The panel also urged MOM to continue to maintain vigilance in preventing workplace accidents, even as companies manage new risks arising from Covid-19.
In particular, MOM should conduct deeper investigations into the top contributor of major injuries - slips, trips and falls - to understand the root causes of this growing problem. The first half of this year saw 16 workplace fatalities, 201 major injuries and 4,779 minor injuries. Most injuries were caused by slips, trips and falls.
There were 17 fatalities, 319 major injuries and 6,294 minor injuries in the same period last year.
One reason why injuries continued to happen, even during the circuit breaker period and despite the reduction in business activity, could be that companies and employees were preoccupied with implementing Covid-19 measures and overlooked the fundamentals of WSH, said Mr Zaqy.
To help combat this, the panel called for an approved code of practice to educate and engage company directors on their responsibilities and ways to ensure WSH risks are effectively managed.
Workers are also urged to cooperate and play their part in managing workplace risks, said Mr Zaqy.
Companies can tap technology such as virtual and augmented reality to manage both accident and Covid-19 risks, without the need for more money or manpower, he added.
