After 7 deaths, MOM urges safety time-out, tightens enforcement in construction, transport

Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has urged companies in the construction and transportation sectors to conduct a voluntary safety time-out from October 5th to 18th following seven workplace fatalities in the past month. This comes as MOM intends to tighten enforcement measures, including higher fines, longer stop-work orders and potential curbs on migrant-worker hiring for serious lapses.

Companies will face increased fines for first-time offences, ranging from S$2,000 to S$3,000, with even higher fines for repeat or more serious offenses. Additionally, the minimum duration of stop-work orders has been increased from five weeks to eight weeks. In egregious cases involving fatal or serious accidents, companies may be barred from hiring new migrant workers for three months.

MOM emphasized the need for companies to review their workplace safety and health procedures, strengthen risk controls, and address safety gaps, particularly in the use of concrete pumps and preventing vehicles from rolling away. The enhanced enforcement measures were previously introduced nationwide from June 26th to July 31st following a spate of workplace deaths.

MOM's Minister of State for Manpower, Mr. Dinesh Vasu Dash, highlighted that the recent fatalities are concentrated in the two industries and called on industry partners and stakeholders to reinforce safety efforts.