SINGAPORE – Thirty-six workers lost their lives as a result of accidents at the workplace in 2023 – a 21.7 per cent drop from the 46 workplace deaths recorded in 2022.
For comparison, there were 37 such deaths in 2021, 30 in 2020, and 39 in 2019. The previous peak was in 2016, when 66 workers died on the job.
The improvement in workplace fatality numbers in 2023 came after a slew of measures, including tougher penalties for safety breaches, was put in place to curb a worrying spate of worker deaths in 2022.
A heightened safety period was also imposed between September 2022 and May 2023, and a multi-agency task force was formed to strengthen safety practices, especially in higher-risk sectors like construction and manufacturing.
Overall, Singapore’s workplace fatality rate in 2023 fell to 0.99 death per 100,000 workers, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad on Jan 31.
This is down from 1.3 deaths per 100,000 workers in 2022, he told attendees at a National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) event on workplace safety and health, held at the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability in Jurong East.
It is the first time that the national workplace fatality rate has fallen below the one per 100,000 worker mark, aside from 2020.
That year, the workplace fatality rate here was 0.9 death per 100,000 workers. But this was an exception in the light of the significant disruptions to work caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Singapore’s goal since 2017 has been to reduce its annual workplace fatality rate to less than one death per 100,000 workers on a sustained basis before 2028.
This was a target set by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and something only the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Britain have consistently attained, said Mr Zaqy.
Noting that Singapore’s workplace fatality rate has more than halved over the past 10 years, he hailed the improvement made in 2023 as a significant achievement, attributing it to hard work on the ground and collaboration between employers, workers and the Government.
But he warned that it is by no means “mission accomplished” for Singapore.
“Whether we can maintain it... depends on all of us not letting up our recent efforts. This will require all of us to stay the course, remain laser-focused on our objective, and reinforce a strong and pervasive culture of workplace safety excellence.”
Proper risk assessment and management need to be in place here, and when a safety incident occurs, it must be thoroughly investigated so that the underlying causes are identified and mistakes are learnt from and avoided, he added.
“If we can do this, I am confident that we will entrench our improvement, and keep the number down over a longer period,” Mr Zaqy said, adding that unions play a critical role by advocating better working conditions, proper safety protocols and access to necessary training.
Further measures to reduce workplace accidents, including a compulsory safety course for chief executives, will kick in later in 2024.
The 2023 workplace fatality figure was released by the Ministry of Manpower on Jan 31 in response to queries from The Straits Times. It will release the full set of workplace safety and health statistics for 2023 in a few months.
At the NTUC event on Jan 31, a total of 21 unions and companies received awards for upholding high workplace safety standards.
NTUC also gave an update on its “Spot, Stop and Report” campaign, which was launched in September 2023 and focused on promoting a reporting culture where workers feel empowered to speak up about safety.
It said the campaign received a good response, citing the example of bus operator Tower Transit, which now receives feedback related to workplace safety and health three to four times each month, compared with once every three months previously.
