Speech at Plenary Session of the 2nd Meeting of the International Advisory Panel for Workplace Safety and Health

Mr Gan Kim Yong, Acting Minister for Manpower, Ritz Carlton Hotel

Mr Lee Tzu Yang
Chairman of the Workplace Safety and Health Council

Mr Hawazi Daipi
My Co-Chair of the International Advisory Panel and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Manpower

Members of the International Advisory Panel

Members of the Workplace Safety and Health Council

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good Afternoon.

It is my pleasure to join you today at the plenary session of the International Advisory Panel, or IAP, for Workplace Safety and Health. Let me begin by thanking our five panel members, who have flown in from various parts of the world to participate in this meeting.

2. Over the past two years, the IAP has been an invaluable resource as we work to strengthen our WSH framework and strategies. Inputs and recommendations from the inaugural meeting in November 2006 helped shape WSH 2015, the ten-year roadmap that underpins our collective efforts to raise Singapore's WSH standards.

Doing Better

3. The strategies and initiatives launched in 2006 served as a strong foundation to achieve our vision of a safe and healthy workplace for everyone, and to establish Singapore as a country renowned for its WSH practices. As Chairman of the WSH Council had noted, we have managed to reduce the workplace fatality rate from 4.9 per 100,000 workers in 2004, to 2.9 last year. The contributions of industry, led by the WSH Council, have been a critical success factor.

4. But we can do better. And our meetings with the IAP members over the past two days have focused on how we can achieve new breakthroughs, to bring our WSH performance to the next level and achieve our target of 1.8 fatalities per 100,000 workers by 2018. Our new national plan will be WSH 2018.

5. One of the key initiatives is to foster the development of a progressive and pervasive WSH culture. This WSH culture must become part of organisation culture of our industry. Everyone in the organisation must be aware and mindful of WSH issues and take ownership of the WSH outcomes in the area he or she is responsible for. Only by doing so, will we be able to achieve new benchmarks in WSH standards.

Building WSH Capabilities

6. Another area of focus we identified was deepening and strengthening our WSH capabilities. Good WSH outcomes can only come about when everyone in the workforce – from the CEO to the last worker on the ground – not only understands the importance of WSH, but are also equipped with the right skills and capabilities. This is also in line with our strategy to promote WSH culture throughout the entire organisation.

7. In April this year, we launched the Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) framework for WSH Professionals. This was co-developed by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and the WSH Council, in consultation with industry. We will continue to build on this to ensure that the skills and competencies of WSH professionals keep pace with industry developments.

8. At the worker level, we are also making progress. I am pleased to announce that WDA and the Council have developed a trade-specific competency framework for the marine industry. This was done in collaboration with the Association of Singapore Marine Industries (ASMI) and the major shipyards in Singapore. The trade-specific competency framework has an important and practical purpose: to equip workers with the knowledge and skills to work safely in their respective trades. A total of 13 trades were identified for the marine industry, including rigging and electrical work¹. To date, competency standards for 6 trades have been developed under this framework and 700 workers have been certified competent. Competencies for all 13 trades will be completed by June 2009. Collectively, the shipyards plan to train and certify 10,000 workers over the next 3 years.

9. We plan to similarly develop trade-specific competency standards for other key industries such as construction. To inculcate safety awareness and build WSH capabilities amongst the general workforce, we are exploring the integration of WSH modules into courses such as the Human Resource WSQ, as well as the curriculum of tertiary institutions.

10. To support our strategy, we must also have strong supporting institutions to guide the development of WSH skills and capabilities. The WSH Council will play a key role in this. It will work with my Ministry to establish, over the next three to five years, WSH institutes that will serve as hubs for ideas and expertise. Amongst other things, these institutes will provide advanced and specialised WSH training, undertake curriculum development, and conduct research and consultancy services to serve the industry.

Improving Workplace Health

11. Another focus area we identified was improving workplace health management. While most people are familiar with safety issues like the hazards of working at heights or with machinery, fewer are familiar with workplace health hazards like noise and chemicals, whose impact can be insidious and may not show up immediately.

12. We need a mindset change on how we can deal with exposure to workplace health hazards. As a start, we will be launching a number of programmes targeting specific health hazards such as asbestos, confined space work and hazardous chemicals. We will work with industry to develop practical and cost effective tools and solutions to manage workplace health hazards.

WSH 2018

13. We will also continue to develop and refine WSH roadmaps for key sectors such as marine, construction, transport and logistics. To track our progress, the roadmaps will include sectoral targets for WSH. All these efforts will be part of the overall strategy to achieve world-class WSH standards by 2018.

Conclusion

14. This afternoon, we will hear from members of the IAP, who will share with us their views on our WSH strategies in greater detail. We will commence consultations on our proposals under the WSH 2018 strategy next month. I would like to invite all stakeholders to participate actively in the discussions today and during the consultation process. Industry ownership of WSH outcomes is one of the key foundations of our WSH framework. Your contributions have enabled us to achieve the progress thus far. I am confident that with the continued support of industry, we will be placed on an even firmer footing to make our workplaces safer and healthier. Thank you.

¹ The 13 trades include: Forklift Operation, Marine Metal Scaffolding (Operational & Supervisory), Signalling & Rigging, Self-propelled Platform Operation, Welding, Pipe–Fitting, Painting & Blasting, Dockside Tower Crane Operation, Steel-fitting, Tank Cleaning, Electrical Installation and Marine Mechanical Installation. More details will be provided in the WDA Fact Sheet on the framework. Please refer to Annex A for a fact sheet on the WSQ.