Safe Management Measures in place at Ministry of Manpower Services Centre

• Lianhe Zaobao (15 Jun 2021): "Strengthening awareness on COVID-19 response amongst employees at Ministry of Manpower"

Safe Management Measures in place at Ministry of Manpower Services Centre - Lianhe Zaobao, 21 Jun, 2021

In her letter (“Strengthening awareness on COVID-19 response amongst employees at Ministry of Manpower”, 15 June), Ms Qiu Zhen highlighted that the staff serving her was not wearing gloves and sanitisers were not readily available, during her visit to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Services Centre at Bendemeer Road.

We note Ms Qiu’s concerns. Currently, all frontline service officers are required to wear gloves when attending to customers. This is part of our ongoing Safe Management Measures (SMMs). To better safeguard the health of our customers and staff, we will be requiring all Service Ambassadors who assist customers with SafeEntry check-ins and queue registration to do so as well.

Hand sanitisers are made readily available and accessible at all customer touchpoints within the MOM Services Centre, such as at the entrances to the foyer and service halls, self-help kiosks, security checkpoints, and advisory services counters, for both our customers’ as well as our staff’s convenience. We will make them more visible to our customers.

The health and safety of our staff and customers continue to be our utmost priority. We appreciate Ms Qiu’s feedback and will strive to do better.

Raymond Tan Choon Guan
Director, Customer Responsiveness Department
Ministry of Manpower

Strengthening awareness on COVID-19 response amongst employees at Ministry of Manpower - Lianhe Zaobao, 15 Jun, 2021

On 31 May, I went to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) service centre on Bendemeer road. The service staff in front of the automatic registration machine at the entrance was very enthusiastic to help me scan my ID card for registration. But although she wore a face mask and face shield, she did not wear gloves, and there was no sanitiser nearby to wash her hands.

I said that I could scan by myself so she did not have to touch my ID card, but she said that her job required them to scan the ID card for visitors.

Entering the service counter in the hall, the MOM staff in charge of reception was very enthusiastic, but there was no hand sanitiser on his desk, and he took over my ID card for checking. In fact, he is at risk like this.

This situation is different from the vaccination centre I went to. I need to disinfect my hands before entering the vaccination centre, and then give my ID card to the service staff at the entrance for verification. After entering, there is an automatic scanner to scan the ID card, replacing the previous method of scanning the ID card by the staff, reducing the risk of contact.

MOM staff interact with a large number of visitors every day, and the risk is very high. We should attach great importance to the safety of their working environment. For example, visitors can scan their ID cards to get the waiting number. Staff only need to provide consultation nearby, and they can also keep a safe distance from visitors.

Hand sanitisers should be placed on the desk of the staff who need to receive visitors, before entering the hall, and on the workbench for checking visitor’s bags, so that visitors can consciously sanitise their hands. This provides a safe working environment for staff and can also avoid potential community infection.

We can find deficiencies from the details, and constantly improve to reduce unnecessary risks and protect the safety of the people to the greatest extent.

Qiu Zhen