Beefing up workplace safety

BY - ANIMA
The extended Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act will come into effect from Sept 1, covering all industries and benefiting 1.4 million workers across Singapore.

Some of the new sectors that will be included under the extended Act include education, retail and business services. These sectors contributed to 29% of all workplace injuries and 6% of workplace deaths in 2010. By extending the Act to all workplaces, the government hopes to reduce fatality incident rates to less than 1.8 per 100,000 workers by 2018.

Under the Act, employers must ensure that they provide employees with clear plans and resources to keep their workplace safe and remove or control risks at work. It also requires employees to follow safety procedures and report unsafe work conditions or behaviours.

Companies across Singapore are preparing themselves to meet these safety requirements. SMRT for example, has programmes lined up to educate, train and prepare staff on the extended Act. It is using various communication platforms to educate staff, including awareness talks, safety circulars and training, said Neo Seng Lee, Acting Deputy Director, Safety Services of SMRT. The company is also conducting safety audits and has established guidelines and procedures for risk assessments and incident reporting.

Comments - The government implement the act for workplace for safety and security which include different industries and start trainning through awareness and reporting