Workplace Safety and Health

Act
- What you need to know

Lee Kah Bee

Senior Manager (Legislation)
Occupational Safety and Health Division
Ministry of Manpower
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Outline of presentation
1. Need for WSH Reform
2. 3 Principles of the New Workplace Safety
and Health Framework
3. Workplace Safety and Health Act (Cap 354A)
4. 3 Reasons Why WSH Matters to YOU?
5. Conclusions

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The Need for Reform . . .

Factories Act
1973
Safety Management
System

WSH
Reform
Average frequency
rate remained at 2.2

*
How to achieve quantum improvement?

Fundamentals must change !

Year
* Accident Frequency Rate = No. of accidents per million man-hours worked

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Call for Reform

Major Accidents in 2004
20-04-2004
20-04-2004

Nicoll Highway

29-04-2004
29-04-2004

Fusionpolis

29-05-2004
29-05-2004

Keppel Shipyard

19-11-2004
19-11-2004

One Raffles Quay

High profile accidents shook publics confidence in

workplace safety & health and raised expectations for
higher standards

High business & opportunity costs of accidents given

our population & density of buildings
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The Need for Reform . . . (Cont)

To restore confidence
Government formulated
the New WSH framework

National Target
To halve our current
occupational fatality rate
from 4.9 (2004) to 2.5 per
100,000 workers by 2015
To attain standards of the
current top 10 developed
countries with good
safety records.

Comparison of Occupational
Death Rates, 2004
Country / Region

Occupational
Fatality Rate #

Sweden

1.0

United Kingdom

1.4

Australia

2.0

USA (2005)

2.1

EU15 Average

2.5

Japan

2.2

Singapore (2004)
(2005)
Taiwan (2001)
(2006)
Hong
Kong (2001)
SAR (2002)
Taiwan

4.9
4.0
6.9
3.1
8.6
6.9

Malaysia
Hong
Kong(2002)
SAR (2002)

10.8
8.6

Malaysia (2002)
10.8
# Occupational Death per 100,000 workers
# Occupational Death per 100,000 workers
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3 Principles of New WSH Framework

Reduce Risks at Source

- Emphasise the importance of good WSH
management systems, especially the need for
comprehensive risk assessments
Promote Industry Ownership of Standards and
Outcomes
- Shift industry mindset from following the letter of
the law to taking responsibility of standards and
outcomes

Higher Penalties for Poor Safety Management

- Penalties must be sufficient to reflect the cost of
poor safety management and to deter risktaking behaviour
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Workplace Safety and Health Act

The primary tool to effect the new framework

First Reading

: 17th October 2005

Second & Third Reading

: 17th January 2006 (passed by Parliament)

Assented to by President : 6th February 2006

Came into force

e
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6
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: 1st March 2006

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20
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Workplace Safety and Health Act

The Act is designed to cover all workplaces
Current coverage (mirrors the old Factories Act)
Construction Sites
Shipyards
General factories

Expansion of the scope of the Act will be

in phases over 3 5 years
MOM will work with the Workplace Safety and Health
Advisory Committee and consult industry sectors

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Workplace Safety and Health Act

Mr Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliament Secretary
(Manpower) announced in Parliament

- 8 March 2007

MOM will roll-out the next phase of workplaces to be included

under the WSH Act on 1 March 2008
The six selected sectors are:a. Services allied to the transport of goods, such as
logistics, freight forwarding and cargo surveying
services;
b. Landscape care and maintenance service activities,
such as grass-cutting, tree pruning, planting, etc;
c. Water supply, sewerage and waste management,
such as refuse disposal;
d. Hotels and restaurants;
e. Healthcare activities such as hospitals, clinics; and
f. Veterinary activities.
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General Duty of Care

The WSHA assigns legal responsibility to
those who create and have control and
management over safety and health risks
(Part IV General Duties of Persons at Workplaces)

Imposed a general duty to take reasonably

practicable measures to protect people
affected
Employees, workers as well as members of public

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Duty Holders
Occupiers for the physical workplace, means of access
and egress and any machinery, equipment etc. (S. 11)

Employers (including self-employed) for work

processes. (S. 12 and 13)

Principals for their contractors or workers supplied by

3rd party labour suppliers where they direct the manner
of work. (S. 14)
The people working for you under your control and
supervision but are not your direct employee (no

contractual employer employee relationship)

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Measures for Employer & Principals

Measures that employers and principals are
required to undertake include:
Providing and maintaining a safe work environment
Ensuring adequate safety measures are taken at work
Ensuring persons are not exposed to hazards arising
from the workplace or areas under the employers
control

Developing and implementing emergency procedures

Providing adequate instructions, information, training
and supervision to employees

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Duty Holders
Employees (persons at work) to co-operate with
employers and not endanger the safety and health of
others. (S. 15)

Manufacturers & supplier of dangerous machinery,

equipment and hazardous substances to ensure so
far as is reasonably practicable that they are safe,
without risks to health when properly used (S. 16).

Persons who erect, install, modify or maintain

such machinery to ensure that so far as is
reasonably practicable that they are safe, without
risks to health when properly used (S. 17).
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Strengthen Personal Accountability

To engender a strong safety culture,
commitment of top management is critical

WSHA holds managers and directors of

companies personally accountable for safety
and health practices at their workplace

Have to prove offence was committed without

his consent or connivance; and
He had exercise all such diligence
A director shall at all times act honestly and use reasonable
diligence in the discharge of the duties of his office.
Companies Act Section 157(1)
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The Straits Times, 26 Apr 2007

He gets 3-month term; first to be convicted

under Workplace Safety and Health Act.
In sentencing Low yesterday, District Judge Chia Wee
Kiat said that there was no doubt in his mind that the
offence warranted a jail term.
What weighs heavily on the courts mind is that the accused
was a trained and experienced rigger who ought to have fully
appreciate the extent of the risk.
What makes it worse is that he put his workers at risk when it
was incumbent upon him as a supervisor to look out for their
safety.
District Judge Chia Wee Kiat
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Moving to a Performance-based regime

Old Factories Act was prescriptive in nature

the law prescribed what must be done in order to
be safe
Safety measures listed were not exhaustive;
It is simply not effective nor possible to prescribe
detailed requirements applicable for every
scenario, across different industry sectors.

Overtime, such a prescriptive approach had

engendered a culture of mere compliance to
the letter of the law.
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Moving to a Performance-based regime

Instead of promulgating more prescriptive

rules, companies will be required to:
Conduct Risk Assessments
Take steps to eliminate or minimise the
identified risk
Disseminate information to employees
and others

WSH (Risk Management) Regulations

came into force on 1 September 2006.

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Higher Penalties for Poor Safety

Management and Performance
The Factories Act contains a stepped penalty regime
based on the harm done. The inadequacy of this regime is
that it does not allow for meaningful penalties in cases
where there are severe lapses, but fortuitously no
accidents have occurred.
Manpower Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen during 2nd reading of WSH Act
Penalties
Penaltiesunder
underthe
theold
oldFactories
FactoriesActAct Minor
Minor(Technical
(TechnicalOffence)
Offence)
Likely
Likelytotocause
causeinjury
injury

Max.
Max.fine
fine- -$5,000
$5,000/ /$2,000
$2,000
1
Max.
jail
Max.fine
fine- -$20,000
$20,000and
and/ /oror /12/ yryrjail

Results
Resultsininserious
seriousinjury
injury
Results
Resultsininone
onedeath
death

Max.
Max.fine
fine- -$35,000
$35,000and
and/ /oror11yryrjail
jail
Max.
Max.fine
fine- -$50,000
$50,000and
and/ /oror11yryrjail
jail

Results
death
Resultsinin>>22death
For
ForRepeat
RepeatOffender
Offender

Max.
Max.fine
fine- -$200,000
$200,000and
and/ /oror11yryrjail
jail
Max.
theamount
amountthat
thatisis
Max.fine
fineofoftwice
twicethe

specified
specifiedininthe
theAct
Act

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Penalties
Maximum Penalties under the WSH Act For Individuals - $200,000 and/or 24 months jail.
For Corporations - $500,000 fine.
For repeat offenders where a fatality occurs during a
previous offence and a 2nd fatality is caused
Maximum fine is DOUBLED

The WSH Act allows the court to impose penalties

taking into account all the relevant circumstances,
including the culpability of the offender, the
potential harm that could have been caused, and
the harm actually done.
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Notification and Reporting

Requirement is prescribed separately under WSH

(Incident Reporting) Regulations

Duty of employer to report work-related accidents involving

employees

Duty of occupier to report dangerous occurrences,

work-related accidents involving persons not at work, or
any self-employed person

Covers all workplaces irrespective of First Schedule

What to report?

Employees

Public

Fatal accidents
Injured for more than 3 consecutive days of MC
Admitted to hospital for at least 24 hrs for observation or treatment
Suffered an occupational disease

Fatal accidents
Injured as a result of work being carried out where the injured public
is taken to hospital for treatment in respect of that injury
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3 reasons why WSH matters to you

1) It is your legal responsibility
WSH Act will be expanded to cover any
premises where landscaping or garden
maintenance is carried out on 1 March 2008

Compliance is not about doing what the law

says you have to do, but assessing and
mitigating the risks at your workplace

Higher penalties that you can be subjected to

Companies director / management can be held
personally liable
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3 reasons why WSH matters to you

2) Good WSH is also good for business a
competitive advantage!

Direct and indirect cost of accidents

lost production, compensation, absenteeism,
retraining, morale, etc

Increasingly clients are reviewing the WSH

performance of service providers before
awarding contracts

Workplace Safety and Health is an integral part

of business

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3 reasons why WSH matters to you

3) At the end of the day, it is a humans life at stake.

Every worker, whether foreigner or local, deserves to go

to work and go home safely at the end of each day
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Conclusions
What you need to do ?
Implement sound WSH management system
Conduct comprehensive Risk Assessment and implement
control measures to eliminate or reduce the risks

Provide adequate resources

Notify and report any work accidents/incidents to MOM

Provide information to affected persons

Comply with existing Regulations, Codes of Practice and
industry best practices

Companies are expected to engage 3rd-party OSH professionals

if they lack the capabilities to help better manage their
workplace safety and health.
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THANK YOU

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