Over half of 67 deaths came from construction and marine industries

March 31, 2009

The Straits Times

By Jermyn Chow

MORE workers died on the job last year compared with 2007, putting a question mark over Singapore's efforts to make worksites safer.

A total of 67 people died in work-related incidents, compared with 63 in 2007. More than half were from the construction and marine industries.

Still, because the workforce grew even more quickly in the same period, the workplace fatality rate - a global indicator to measure workplace safety - actually improved.

There were 2.8 deaths per 100,000 workers last year, compared with 2.9 in 2007.

But Singapore is some way from its 2018 goal, set by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last year, to achieve fewer than 1.8 deaths for every 100,000 workers.

The latest casualty figures were released yesterday by the industry-led Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council at its Programme-Based Engagement (ProBE) seminar at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh, for 500 employers and safety officers.

The council's report card on workplace safety in Singapore said that while the number of fatal incidents last year, 60, was comparable to the 59 in 2007, more of them involved multiple victims.

Twelve men died in five such incidents last year, compared with seven in three incidents in 2007.

Workplace injuries were also up. A total of 11,072 workers were hurt last year - an average of 30 a day - up more than 11 per cent from the average of 27 in 2007.