Singapore’s workplace fatality rate for 1H2024 near last year’s record low; 19 deaths reported

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s workplace fatality rate for the first half of 2024 remained near last year’s record low, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Wednesday (Oct 9).
It stood at 1.0 per 100,000 workers for the January to June period, compared with 0.8 and 0.99 in the first and second half of 2023. There were 19 workplace fatalities in the first six months, up from the 14 cases over the same period last year. 
One of Singapore’s workplace safety and health goals is to reduce the annualised fatal injury rate to below 1.0 per 100,000 workers by 2028. Last year was the first time Singapore reached the target, apart from 2020 when COVID-19 disrupted work.
“While we have been able to sustain (it) for the first half of the year, the key is to continue this progress in which we want to maintain our standards toward our WSH 2028 targets,” said Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad.
In response to a question about the increase in fatal injury rates, he said Singapore is “roughly” where it was last year.
“We hope to improve it in the second half, I think that is very important, that we don’t take our eye off the ball.”
When asked what the country’s next target would be, MOM said that it tries to strike a balance. 
“Theoretically, we can introduce a lot more measures, I think, to drive it down from 1.0 to 0.8, to 0.7. But the key question is, at what cost,” said an MOM spokesperson, noting that it would be difficult to implement rules such as having someone supervise every piece of work done at a site.
The four OECD countries that consistently register low workplace fatality rates took decades to reach their current standards, he said. The Netherlands and the United Kingdom top the list with a three-year average rate of 0.4 per 100,000 workers.
“Do we have aspirations to drive (the rate) down to 0.4? We do have, but are we going to achieve it in the next two, three years? Realistically, it is very difficult,” he said.
Just one big accident involving multiple workers could bring the rate back up to 1.2 or 1.5 per 100,000 workers, he added.
Construction, manufacturing and transportation and storage remained the biggest contributors to fatal and major injuries in the first half of the year, MOM said in its workplace safety and health report.
Fifty-four per cent of all fatal and major injuries took place in these three industries, though the figure is lower than the 63 per cent reported in the first half of 2023. There were improvements in construction and manufacturing, where measures such as video surveillance and a demerit point system weren introduced.
The number of Type A (higher fatality risk) and B (lower fatality risk) incidents both fell. There were 117 Type A incidents in the first half of the year, compared with 129 in the same period a year ago. For Type B incidents, the figure fell from 201 to 195.
The annualised major injury rate across all sectors was 16 per 100,000 workers, compared with 17.4 in the first half of 2023. 
The three worst-performing sectors when it comes to fatal injuries are construction (five), marine (four) and water supply, sewage and waste management (three).
“Marine is a problem this year. Last year, 2023, they had a good run, there was no fatality,” an MOM spokesperson said, adding that they are playing close attention to the industry and engaging them on how to improve.
MOM also said there were 11 dangerous occurrences in the first half of the year, such as collapse or failure of structures and equipment, or fires and explosions.
A total of 473 cases of occupational disease were reported, lower than 653 in the first half of last year, but higher than in the first half of 2022. The increase was largely due to the expansion of a workplace health surveillance programme, the report said.
MOM said “significant progress” has been made in workplace safety, but it will continue with its enforcement efforts.
More than 3,000 inspections were conducted in the first six months of the year.
“Aside from general workplace safety, there were also targeted inspections focusing on priority areas – slips, trips & falls, machinery safety, and falls from height,” the ministry said.
A total of 720 inspections were conducted between June and August to target slips, trips and falls, according to a Facebook post by MOM last month.
For the first half of the year, the ministry took enforcement actions for more than 7,000 breaches under the Workplace Safety and Health Act and Regulations, including 717 composition fines amounting to more than S$1.4 million (US$1.07 million). A total of 22 Stop Work Orders were issued.