CEOs and directors face prosecution for workplace safety lapses if they are culpable: Zaqy

SINGAPORE - Company leaders can and will be prosecuted if they are culpable for workplace safety and health (WSH) lapses, and compliance with an upcoming code of practice outlining their duties will be considered by the courts in the event of an offence.

Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad said on Monday (Aug 1) that the Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) for Company Directors' WSH Duties will be published later this year, with public consultations set to begin this month.

"We are putting managements and boards on notice that the ACOP is coming," he told Parliament in response to a speech by Mr Melvin Yong (Radin Mas).

The authorities are also reviewing whether to expand the requirement for WSH personnel to more workplaces, Mr Zaqy added.

In his speech, Mr Yong had called for more action to beef up workplace safety in the light of an alarming rise in workplace fatalities and injuries post-Covid-19.

There have been 31 work-related deaths so far this year, the most over the same period since 2016 and more than the 30 deaths recorded in the whole of 2020.

Mr Yong had asked whether the upcoming code of practice could be written into law to give it "legislative teeth". He cited an Australian case where two recycling company directors were jailed after a worker was killed by a forklift, and noted that it is a legal requirement there for company directors and business owners to ensure their employees' safety.

Mr Yong also noted that Sweden requires every company, regardless of size and industry, to have a WSH representative.

"In Singapore, where we pride ourselves on being efficient and attentive in all that we do, we certainly need to do more, and do better," the labour MP said.

He acknowledged that some steps have been taken to curb the rising number of workplace deaths, but "the Government's actions alone are not enough".

Noting that a factor behind the recent spate of accidents has been the rush to catch up on work, he called for minimum rest hours for workers in higher-risk sectors to be legislated.

"If employers are pushing our workers to - quite literally work towards their deaths - then we must surely act to stop this," Mr Yong said.

He also called for better whistle-blowing channels to make the reporting of near-misses more prevalent, and suggested that the public be allowed to use the OneService application to report unsafe work practices.

WSH training should also be made mandatory for workers in high-risk sectors, he added.

Agreeing broadly, Mr Zaqy said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is extremely concerned about the recent spate of workplace fatalities, and that its analysis of recent fatal accidents showed that many companies did not conduct risk assessments or follow safe work procedures.

"This is disturbing - simple and totally avoidable mistakes that resulted in loss of lives," he added.

He said MOM takes every report it receives on safety lapses seriously, and that there are safeguards to protect workers who report breaches. The ministry received 2,300 reports over the past year, and 62 per cent of follow-up inspections led to enforcement action, he added.

On more ways for the public to report unsafe practices, Mr Zaqy said MOM is looking at adding such a function to another government app but he did not give specifics.

He agreed that fatigue could contribute to accidents, but noted that there are already protections under the Employment Act spelling out the maximum hours an employee can work, including overtime.

On training, he said management and supervisors are already required to attend courses on risk management as part of the bizSAFE programme.

The WSH Council is also working with the National Trades Union Congress to develop modules for worker refresher training, and there are plans to expand this to supervisors and management, he added.

Despite the recent setback, Mr Zaqy said the goal to reduce the workplace fatality rate here to less than one per 100,000 workers by 2028 still stands. Singapore can and should be held to higher standards given its stage of development, he said.

"We must take important lessons from this episode to build a safety culture that will endure for years to come," he said.