Speech at Workplace Safety and Health Awards 2024

Senior Minister of State for Manpower, Zaqy Mohamad, Sands Grand Ballroom, Sands Expo and Convention Centre

1. Good evening, everyone. I am very happy to join you at today’s Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Awards. 

Recognising WSH Excellence in 2023

2. This evening, we recognise 323 exemplary Awards recipients who have demonstrated WSH excellence in 2023. 

3. 2023 was a highlight for Singapore’s WSH performance, with a few firsts. 

a. We attained a fatal injury rate of 0.99 per 100,000 workers – the first time it was less than 1.0, other than the Covid year in 2020. This places Singapore among the best in the world, as only four OECD countries, namely the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden, have achieved this on a consistent basis. 
b. We also attained a major injury rate of 16.1 per 100,000 workers, and it’s also the first time we attained such a level, other than during Covid.  

4. At the same time, this year’s WSH Awards has a few firsts as well.
 
a. It’s the first time we have more than 700 applicants – 727 applicants to be exact. I am also encouraged that more firms are qualifying for the high standards set by the WSH Awards. 
b. It’s the first time that we have more than 2,000 attendees – a record in the history of the WSH Awards. Thank you for coming to cheer your colleagues on, and celebrate their achievements.  

5. This year, 64% are repeat winners, with more than half winning 3 or more years in a row. This is significant, as it shows that a strong culture of workplace safety excellence is key to preventing incidents on a sustained basis, even if the companies are in high-risk industries. You, as WSH Award winners, have the right culture and processes, the commitment and the discipline, to keep your workers and your worksites safe.  Well done to all of you! 

6. That said, we must remain vigilant in 2024 and build upon the good momentum in 2023. 

a. The key factor that drives our commitment to safety is simply our workers and our families. No one should get injured at work, or worse, lose his or her life. 
b. It is critical that we maintain our workplace fatality rate of below 1.0 per 100,000 workers. In the first half of the year, we achieved an annualised fatality rate of 1.0. So far, we have maintained it from what it was last year. Collectively, we can, and must, bring down the fatality and injury rates even further, and strengthen our WSH performance in the second half of 2024. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will also press on with our inspections and continue to take enforcement action against errant employers and workers. 

Collective WSH Ownership

7. To sustain good WSH, we need to reinforce the culture of WSH excellence, as shown by our WSH Award winners. This means demonstrating collective WSH ownership, such that this is ingrained into our work environment.  

8. Collective ownership means ownership at all levels – at the individual level, at the company level, and at the industry level. All of us have a role to play, and we recognise this with our various WSH Awards. 

Championing WSH at Individual Level

9. At the individual level, we recognise those who champion WSH on the front lines through the WSH Officer and Supervisor awards. They are best positioned to understand and prevent hazards. One exceptional individual is Mr Mani, a Senior Health, Safety, and Environment Specialist at Chevron Oronite and our sole winner of the WSH Officer Award:

a. Mani has been actively proposing and implementing WSH solutions, after hearing from his peers and workers. For example, he advocated for helmets with visors after observing cases of facial injuries, taking ownership of the entire implementation process from testing to gathering and addressing feedback.
b. Mani has also been instrumental in building Chevron Oronite’s safety culture. He mentored close to 70% of Chevron Oronite’s WSH learning team facilitators, to address safety issues through learning and improvement. Additionally, Mani helps his company grow a steady pipeline of WSH champions by coaching his colleagues towards earning their safety accreditation.

Attaining Exemplary WSH Performance

10. At the company level, we recognise companies with exemplary WSH performance. One example is SWIA Pte Ltd, an SME that is a recipient of the bizSAFE Enterprise Exemplary Award and second-time winner of the CARE Award for mental well-being practices. 

a. The company demonstrates a strong commitment to Total WSH by carrying out extensive risk assessments covering safety, occupational health, and psychosocial risks.
b. SWIA prioritises their workers’ mental well-being by investing around $90,000 yearly into care and wellness programmes. This includes organising yoga and meditation classes for their staff, and sending them for professional training to provide peer support. They also recently joined WSH Council’s Well-being Champions Network to share their mental well-being practices and learn from other companies. I encourage more companies to join this Network for greater support on your mental well-being journey.

Promoting WSH Excellence amongst other Businesses

11. At the industry level, we recognise companies that support and guide others in their industry to also attain WSH excellence. Koh Brothers Building & Civil Engineering Contractor (Pte) Ltd is one such WSH multiplier, which won a bizSAFE Partner Award.

a. Koh Brothers first required their sub-contractors to minimally possess bizSAFE Level 3 certification in 2013. They then raised the bar to bizSAFE Level 4 in 2016 and extended these requirements to their second-tier sub-contractors in 2022. Unqualified sub-contractors were given a lead time of six months to comply, instead of being dismissed. Koh Brothers gave their contractors a commercial incentive to level up their WSH capability. 
b. Koh Brothers also nurtures their partners by training them on fulfilling bizSAFE conditions. Sub-contractors who have successfully progressed through the bizSAFE rungs are also invited to share their experiences during meetings for cross-learning. Koh Brothers not only rewards their own employees, but also workers from their sub-contractors, with monetary incentives for projects which have achieved 500,000 accident-free hours. 

Conclusion

12. These exemplary companies and individuals are but a handful of our many, many recipients today. Do take this opportunity to network and share your best practices. Together, let’s press on to sustain our achievement of being among the safest countries in the world, and continue championing WSH to keep our workers safe in 2024 and beyond. Once again, my heartiest congratulations to all our recipients. Thank you and please enjoy the rest of the evening! Have a wonderful evening, have a wonderful dinner.