There has been an alarming rise in workplace accidents and deaths this year, said National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary-general Melvin Yong.
He said in a Facebook post yesterday that the recent blast at Tuas Incineration Plant was a grim reminder of this.
For at least the third time this year, the labour MP called on companies to conduct safety time-outs and reassess work processes.
Thursday's blast at the National Environment Agency-owned plant left one worker dead and two seriously injured.
Mr Yong urged all companies to work with labour unions to train safe management officers to become dedicated workplace safety and health representatives. This is so that a good safety culture can be instilled at the workplace, he said.
Meanwhile, workplace safety experts lamented that the blast occurred while an inquiry into another fatal explosion in a Tuas industrial building was ongoing.
The explosion in February at fire protection systems contractor Stars Engrg killed three men and injured 10 others.
Mr Yong noted there have now been 28 workplace deaths in just nine months this year, compared with 30 in the whole of last year.
He said: "Clearly, we must act now to prevent any (more deaths) from happening."
The latest blast occurred while three workers were doing maintenance work inside an electrical switchroom at the plant. A 65-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other men, aged 59 and 64, had burn injuries and were taken to hospital.
The Amalgamated Union of Public Employees said it is working with the National Environment Agency to provide assistance to the families of the three workers.
Mr Yong and the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council previously called for safety time-outs in late June after nine workplace deaths in May and June.
In February, Mr Yong, the WSH Council, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad and the Singapore Contractors Association had also called for a safety time-out on the use of machinery. This was after seven workplace fatalities in three weeks that month. February's workplace death toll would eventually rise to 11, including the three workers from Stars Engrg.
Associate Professor Goh Yang Miang from the National University of Singapore's Department of the Built Environment said research in countries such as Spain, Poland and China has shown that there is a tendency for occupational accidents to rise during periods of economic recovery and expansion. This, he believes, is one of the key drivers behind the recent spate of accidents.
A former chairman of the health and safety engineering technical committee at The Institution of Engineers, Singapore, he said: "In a way, the current situation is showing we are facing the same problem.
"It seems to imply that the economic conditions are putting a lot of pressure on workplaces, and there is a tendency for people and companies to neglect safety and health whenever they are in a rush to get their jobs done."
While the number of workplace fatalities has fallen over the years from 66 deaths in 2016 to a record low of 30 last year, WSH officer Han Wenqi said this is not enough and the root causes for these accidents have not been weeded out.
He said poor safety habits are usually the result of months or years of systemic lapses that are not addressed, as they may not have led to safety incidents.
He suggested better feedback channels for workers to raise concerns, preventing workplace supervisors from overriding these concerns, and called for firms to take immediate action when unsafe practices are flagged.
Prof Goh suggested the WSH Council and other organisations could create safety kits for families to remind their loved ones about common safety issues.
He said a strong safety culture requires both top-down and bottom-up approaches. "Managers have to first place strong emphasis on safety, and people on the ground also need to play ball."
