Zaqy Mohamad: Workers Must Be Able to Raise WSH Concerns Without Fear of Reprisal

Senior Minister of State for Manpower (MOM) Zaqy Mohamad emphasised that although Singapore has whistleblowing channels for workers to report workplace safety and health (WSH) breaches anonymously, it is more important for workers and employers to have barrier-free dialogue when it comes to raising WSH issues.

Mr Zaqy said this in his closing address of the eighth International Advisory Panel (IAP) on workplace safety and health (WSH), held from 17 to 19 January 2023 at Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay, Singapore.

He said: “We need to ensure that our whistleblowing channels remain accessible, in fact as accessible as they can be, and at the same time remove the fear of reprisals … because there is always that fear of reprisal should the employers be reported outside of the enterprise.

“If workers cannot have an open dialogue with their employer, how do you improve [workplace safety]?”

Meanwhile, the Government has also accepted eight of the IAP’s key recommendations in its quest to attain a sustainable WSH culture here in Singapore.

MOM will study the details and work with stakeholders and sectoral agencies to implement appropriate measures to ensure that WSH remains a priority for employers and workers.

The Eight Recommendations

The eight recommendations published in the report of the eighth IAP meeting can be broadly categorised into two groups.

They are, namely, recommendations to generate stronger motivation and willingness of employers and employees to embrace WSH initiatives and to strengthen knowledge and awareness to manage WSH risks better.

On Embracing WSH Initiatives

The first recommendation was (1) to emphasise top management’s responsibility when building a safety-conscious company culture.

“While WSH professionals play an integral role in driving better WSH outcomes, the overall responsibility for WSH should reside with the top management and should not be relegated to the WSH professionals or other individuals in the organisation,” wrote the report.

Secondly, the panel recommended that (2) procurement contracts should cover all contractors – including sub-contactors – to ensure all contractors in the supply chain are accountable for WSH outcomes, not just the main contractor.

The IAP also recommended (3) bringing the business’ interest into greater alignment with WSH.

This could include incorporating more incentives for good WSH performance and practices into procurement contracts and work injury compensation insurance.

In line with what Mr Zaqy said in his closing speech, the IAP also recommended that (4) workplaces be built in such a way that workers will feel safe to speak up.

“This could be done through building communities of practice, reinforcing positive examples, normalising the sharing of near-misses and accidents to facilitate learning, and encouraging workers to look out for one another,” the report wrote.

On Strengthening Knowledge and Awareness

While the IAP noted that new workers generally attend mandatory training safety training, it recommended that (5) a more pervasive training culture be adopted – one that goes beyond foundation training and will further improve WSH practices on the ground.

It also suggested that (6) MOM and the WSH Council review existing safety guidelines and materials to simplify key messages into a more easily understood format for SMEs to better equip themselves with WSH practices.

The panel also highlighted the need to (7) promote age-friendly workplace safety practices and designs to enable more older workers who wish to continue working to continue doing so.

As Singapore works towards a greener economy, the IAP highlighted that there is a need for Singapore to identify the types of green technology. In addition, it needs to explore potential risks and hazards associated with these technologies.

The IAP recommended that (8) Singapore “study, identify and pre-emptively manage the risks through timely sharing of information with the industry to prevent incidents and industrial disasters.”