Speech at Bizsafe Convention 2009
Mr Gan Kim Yong, Acting Minister , Suntec City
Mr Jackson Yap, Chairman, WSH Council Construction and Landscaping Committee
Industry and company leaders,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon.
I am pleased to join you at today's inaugural bizSAFE Convention 2009. I am encouraged by the response from the industry. Over 700 management representatives are present here today. This underscores your commitment to workplace safety.
Current economic situation and the SMEs
2. The current economic downturn poses huge challenges for many companies, big and small. To stay competitive and viable in this climate, companies will need to cut costs. Some companies may be tempted to cut back on their safety and health provisions. This is a myopic approach. Workplace Safety and Health is a long-term goal that remains relevant even in a downturn. In fact, it is even more critical in a downturn for companies to maintain their focus on raising safety and health standards so as to minimize downtime and lift the productivity of their workers. It will also serve to ensure that your companies are well prepared for the upturn when it happens.
3. We recognise that small and medium enterprises may have less resources and would continue to need help to build their WSH capability. Therefore, we have introduced programmes and initiatives to help SMEs build their safety and health capabilities. Let me start with bizSAFE.
Helping SMEs build WSH management systems through bizSAFE
4. bizSAFE has been a key component in our efforts to help SMEs build their WSH capabilities. I would like to commend the Workplace Safety and Health Council for their efforts and the good progress made in reaching out to SMEs through bizSAFE. Close to 2,000 companies have come on board the programme since April 2007 and about half of them have implemented comprehensive risk management to reduce or eliminate safety hazards at their workplaces.
5. Financial assistance is available to help companies embark on bizSAFE. The WSH Council administers a Risk Management Assistance Fund (RMAF) that SMEs can tap on to hire external consultants to help build internal capability in risk management. Since the launch of RMAF in April 2006, $5.3 million have been committed to more than 900 companies so far. I urge more SMEs to leverage on this fund to enhance their risk management capabilities.
6. The WSH Council is also exploring other ways to enhance the programme to help SMEs build safer workplaces. For example, I am pleased to note that the WSH Council has linked up with the American International Group or AIG to reduce the insurance premium for work injury compensation for companies that have attained bizSAFE levels 3 to 5. These companies would have successfully implemented risk management and WSH management system at their workplaces. Such bizSAFE enterprises that subscribe to AIG's work injury compensation plans would also be provided with risk consulting services. These initiatives directly translate better safety capabilities into significant and immediate cost savings for SMEs, resulting in a win-win solution for both companies and AIG.
Helping Companies build WSH expertise through SPUR
7. The development and enhancement of bizSAFE is an integral part of our ongoing efforts to help SMEs build up their WSH management systems. However, merely putting in place a WSH management system is not sufficient to achieve sustained WSH improvements at the workplace. We need stronger safety and health expertise to ensure that the system works and that it translates into actual improvements in WSH outcomes. The safety and health profession plays a major role in this aspect.
8. WSH professionals, such as WSH Coordinators, Officers and Auditors, are central to making a workplace safe and healthy. They influence and shape the WSH culture at the workplace. They are the experts in conducting risk assessments of work processes as well as developing and implementing the various measures to mitigate risks. They conduct safety audits at the workplace and assist stakeholders with their WSH responsibilities. Employers look to WSH professionals for advice on the areas for improvement. Supervisors and workers also look to the WSH professionals for help in addressing day-to-day WSH concerns.
9. We have made much progress over the past few years in developing the WSH profession. Last year, the Council, together with the Workforce Development Agency or WDA, put in place a new WSH Professional Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) framework. The framework provided opportunities for more trained professionals to help companies and for existing professionals to upgrade their skills and qualifications. However, as we intensify our efforts towards our WSH goal of less than 1.8 fatalities per 100,000 workers by 2018, we recognise the need to scale up the number of such professionals in the industry. Currently, we have only over 4,000 trained WSH Professionals. My Ministry has projected that we need to grow the size of the local pool of WSH professionals to 19,000-strong by 2018. If we can do it earlier – even better!
10. Over the next few months, MOM and the WSH Council will be working closely to attract more professionals, managers, executives and technicians or PMETs into the WSH profession. Jobs in this sector would continue to be created and valued by the industry, despite the current economic crisis.
11. Funding support to help companies send their employees for training under the WSQ framework will be enhanced through the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience or SPUR. Through SPUR, we aim to increase the number of training places for WSH Coordinators, Officers and Auditors by about 2,000 annually, with the capacity to expand further if the demand rises. Another 1,000 training places will be made available for WSH representatives. Employers would be able to tap on the higher course fee support and absentee payroll under SPUR to send their staff for WSH training. This will help them manage their manpower costs during this downturn. Examples of WSH programmes that fall under SPUR include the Graduate Certificate in WSH, the Specialist Diploma in WSH, the Advanced Certificate in WSH and the Certificate in WSH. These courses will help upgrade existing WSH professionals as well as prepare new entrants for a career in workplace safety.
12. Through these efforts, we aim to add another 2,000 trained WSH Coordinators, Officers and Auditors, per year over the next 5 years, to help the industry raise workplace safety and health standards. The WSH profession offers not only a meaningful job, but also a promising career for Singaporeans. Hence, I encourage all school-leavers and PMETs to seriously consider WSH as a career choice.
Conclusion
13. We should seize the opportunity during this downturn to improve our workers' abilities to manage workplace safety better. When the economy recovers, we can then count on these workers to help meet work demands in a safe and healthy manner.
14. The overall workplace fatality rate has fallen from 4.9 per 100,000 workers in 2004 to 2.8 in 2008. However, more needs to be done before we can meet our target of having world class WSH standards by 2018. As business leaders, all of you have an important role to play. Your very presence here today highlights your commitment to improving your companies' WSH performance. I urge you now to further this commitment by leveraging on bizSAFE and SPUR to build a safer and healthier workplace for all our workers and companies. Thank you.