Singapore's MOM launches workplace safety and health Code of Practice

MOM will be gazetting this Code of Practice (COP) as an Approved COP by October this year — this means that in the event of a WSH Act offence, the Courts can consider compliance to this Approved COP in their judgment.

Speaking at the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Conference 2022 on Monday (19 September 2022), Singapore's Minister for Manpower (MOM) Dr Tan See Leng has officially launched a code of practice (COP) to help management teams shape the WSH culture in their companies.

Starting off his speech, Minister Tan shared that from the start of 2022 up to the date of the speech, there have been 37 workplace fatalities - the same number for the whole of 2021. He further elaborated that most of these accidents were due to preventable safety lapses, such as inadequate control measures or lack of adherence to safe work procedures.

Addressing this "disheartening" safety record, Minister Tan commented: "The economy has been re-opening well; but conversely, our WSH performance has gotten off to a rocky start."

"I know companies are struggling with some of the after-effects of COVID-19, such as the rush to meet deadlines, and manpower constraints. These factors will continue to weigh heavily over the next few months. But addressing them cannot come at the expense of safety."

Recognising the urgent need to refocus attention and vigilance on WSH, Singapore recently announced a “heightened safety” period of six months, with MOM introducing unprecedented measures, such as the mandatory Safety Time-Out, and the upfront debarment from hiring migrant workers should there be any serious WSH lapses found following an accident. [Read more on these]

Minister Tan added: "Beyond dealing with the immediate situation, it is also important to have structural changes to enable us to attain our WSH 2028 goals and sustain good WSH performance over the longer term. This means embedding safety into every company, every worksite, and every employee. This can only happen with a strong, pervasive WSH culture and ownership over WSH performance."

To cultivate a strong WSH culture, Minister Tan believes it must start from the top – with the chief executive and company directors.

"This is because they are the ones with influence and control over budgets, priorities, and training for WSH. WSH considerations have to be entrenched as the most important and non-negotiable decisions for companies. Only the chief executive and board can do that; they will then be able to ultimately drive good WSH practices on the ground."

This can be seen clearly when comparing the WSH performance of companies within the same industry. While they deal with similar workplace risks, and tap on the same profile of workers, some companies "consistently have stellar WSH track records compared to their peers, and win WSH Awards year after year".

The biggest reason for this difference, according to Minister Tan, is the emphasis on WSH by company directors.

As such, MOM and the WSH Council have been working on the COP on chief executives and board of directors’ WSH duties. After extensive consultations with the Singapore Institute of Directors, Singapore Institute of Safety Officers, Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Tripartite Partners and various industry associations, the COP was officially launched on Monday.

Details on the COP

As shared by Minister Tan, the COP aims to distil the management principles and practices of safe companies into actionable steps for others to adopt and adapt to their circumstances.

The COP can be summarised into four main principles. Company directors should:

1. First, ensure that WSH is integrated into business decisions and there is clarity in their roles and responsibilities in leading WSH.
2. Second, continuously build a strong WSH culture, set the tone, and demonstrate visible leadership in embodying and communicating highly effective WSH standards.
3. Third, ensure that WSH management systems are effective and reviewed regularly.
4. Lastly, empower workers to be actively engaged in WSH.

The measures outlined in the COP are aimed at integrating WSH into organisational processes and establish clear responsibilities of company directors and CEOs. For instance, the COP suggests that company directors set WSH as a regular agenda item in board meetings, demand effective WSH standards from suppliers, and set up an internal WSH reporting system that assures workers of fair and safe treatment.

The COP will apply to companies in all industries, even those that have no manual work and little risk of physical injury. Minister Tan clarified that this is because WSH covers both safety and health, which includes mental wellbeing. Companies should apply the COP principles to protect both the physical safety and mental wellbeing of their workers.

"The guidance in the COP is an example of how MOM and WSH Council are supporting companies to build their WSH capability and foster a good WSH culture."

Minister further reminds that there are many other codes of practice, guidelines, and resources available on the WSH Council's website that companies can access and share freely. For SMEs that are just starting out in their WSH journey, MOM will be expanding its StartSAFE programme.

Under StartSAFE, MOM bears the full cost of WSH consultancy visits to identify risks and advise on measures to prevent them.

"So every company that wants to improve WSH will have support to do so. But for companies that neglect WSH, MOM has no choice but to take a tough stance."

MOM will be gazetting the COP as an Approved COP by October this year — this means that in the event of a WSH Act offence, the Courts can consider compliance to this Approved COP in their judgment. Adhering to the Approved COP’s principles can be a mitigating factor.

Minister Tan expressed hope that this Approved COP will enable more companies to strengthen their WSH culture, and will contribute towards meeting the WSH performance target.

Ending off his speech, he said: "We recognise that it has been a turbulent period as we continue to battle work pressures and uncertainties. But we cannot, and we must never, let it be an excuse to put WSH on the back burner. It is paramount that companies understand the need to be safe, and how WSH is aligned with their commercial interests.

"Your business will be more sustainable if you have high WSH standards. You can secure more contracts with buyers who value WSH. You can better attract and retain talent, given your strong reputation for looking after their safety and health. And you avoid disruptions following accidents, stop work orders or debarment from hiring foreign employees."

[ALSO READ: Top causes of workplace fatalities in Singapore in H1 2022: MOM's review]

NTUC's response

In response to the launch, NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Melvin Yong shared in a Facebook post: "NTUC supports the timely introduction of this guide for leaders as the recent worrying trend of workplace incidents signals that urgent action needs to be taken to bring down the number of incidents and keep our workers and their work environments safe."

Yong further affirmed that it is of utmost importance for company leaders, who can influence decisions surrounding a company’s budget, timeline, priorities, and WSH, to make WSH a top priority in their organisation and build a strong safety culture where employees at all levels are aligned with the organisation’s WSH priorities.

In adopting the measures and best practices outlined in the code, Yong believes that organisations and workers alike will benefit from the win-win situation where the organisation can enjoy a better WSH reputation, which will, in turn, enable them to attract and retain talents, be in a better position to grow their business due to the reduced number of workplace incidents and time lost as a result.

Ending off his post, he added: "I hope this encourages company leaders to take WSH-related matters seriously. Let us work together to bring down the number of workplace incidents and injuries moving forward."

Image / Shutterstock

Follow us on Telegram and on Instagram @humanresourcesonline for all the latest HR and manpower news from around the region!