Key takeaways
To emphasise the personal accountability of the employer's senior leadership and to ensure compliance with the Workplace Safety and Health Act 2006 (WSHA) and related regulations, the MOM will adopt the stronger measures, including the following:
- Requiring the chief executive officers and boards of directors of employers found to have serious WSH lapses following serious or fatal workplace accidents to attend a mandatory half-day in-person enhanced version of the existing bizSAFE training for senior management; holding corporate senior leadership personally accountable and requiring them to take responsibility for WSH rectifications.
- Increasing the maximum fines, from SGD 20,000 to SGD 50,000, for breaches of the Workplace Safety and Health Act 2006 (WSHA) and related regulations that could result in death or serious bodily injury, in order to enhance deterrence for WSHA breaches.
Note that the WSHA also imposes WSH duties on all principals of contractors and subcontractors where the principal:
- Engaged the contractor.
- Directs the work of the contractor.
Companies engaging the services of contractors should note that one of the key IAP Recommendations is to extend WSH oversight to contractors in the whole supply chain as a response to the practice of multiple layers of subcontracting and outsourcing of work, which could dilute safety and health responsibilities and contribute to workplace injuries.
Hence, the IAP recommends the following for the main contractor / service buyer:
- Assess potential contractors/vendors based on their past safety performances.
- Use procurement contracts to require companies in the supply chain to improve WSH by, for example, incorporating specific safety requirements.
Accountability on contractors/vendors should be applied to all levels of subcontracting, and not just the main-contractors and prime subcontractors.
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