PM Lee says recent spate of workplace deaths 'not acceptable', urges all parties involved to 'put this right'

SINGAPORE — Following a recent spate of workplace fatalities, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday (May 9) that the situation is “not acceptable” and has called all parties involved to “put this right”. 

Between Jan 1 and May 6, 20 people have died at work, with 10 deaths in April alone, according to a press release by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council on Sunday. 

“This is far too many, and not acceptable,” Mr Lee wrote in a Facebook post on Monday. 

Mr Lee noted that the country has made good progress over the years to prevent workplace accidents, especially deaths. 

However, with the reopening of the economy and ramping up of activities, he said that “safety standards and practices seem to have slipped”, with accident rates going up. 

“We must put this right. I call on everyone involved — employers, supervisors, and workers — to take safety at the workplace seriously,” he urged. 

“Lives are at stake. We have a responsibility to keep all our workers safe, whether they are local or foreign," he added. 

"Let us ensure a safe workplace for all, so that all our workers can return home safely to their families.”  

On Sunday, the MOM, WSH Council, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and industry partners called on companies to conduct a safety time-out starting Monday. This is expected to last for two weeks. 

These time-outs are for senior management to engage workers and unions in reinforcing workplace safety and health processes, and to deal promptly with safety issues raised by workers. 

According to the MOM, preliminary investigations revealed that a common factor among these fatalities was that basic safety and health control measures — such as wearing of seat belts in forklifts, or fall protection gear while working at heights were inadequate or not in place.  

"Lives would have been saved if these well-established control measures were taken," the MOM and WSH council had said.