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PERMISSION TO MEMBERS TO BE ABSENT Under the provisions of clause 2(d) of Article 46 of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, the following Members have been granted permission to be or to remain absent from sittings of Parliament (or any Committee of Parliament to which they have been appointed) for the periods stated: Name From (2005) To (2005) Dr Tan Sze Wee 10 Mar 13 Mar Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim 15 Mar 16 Mar 18 Mar 18 Mar Mr Wong Kan Seng 24 Mar 27 Mar 02 Apr 08 Apr
PERMISSION TO MEMBERS TO BE ABSENT ABDULLAH TARMUGI Speaker Parliament of Singapore
MOTIONS - ORDER OF BUSINESS - Motion Resolved,
MOTIONS - ORDER OF BUSINESS - Motion That, under Standing Order 10(2), the business motion standing under the name of the Leader of the House as listed on the Order Paper for today, be taken now. - [Mr Mah Bow Tan].
MOTIONS - MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - Business Motion Resolved,
MOTIONS - MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - Business Motion That, notwithstanding the Standing Orders, a Ministerial Statement by the Minister for Manpower be taken before the resumption of proceedings on the Estimates of Expenditure for FY 2005/2006. - [Mr Mah Bow Tan].
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment 1. Mr Sin Boon Ann asked the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports whether the Government will consider adopting legislation to allow for the establishment of "baby-drop centres" to enable mothers with unwanted pregnancies a safe environment for leaving their babies for adoption.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Mr Speaker, Sir, I share the hon. Member Mr Sin Boon Ann's concern for mothers with unwanted pregnancies. We want to reach out to these mothers and help them make informed, responsible and safe choices. Our main objective is to ensure that both the baby and mother are safe.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment MCYS has adopted a three-pronged approach to prevent any pregnancy from becoming a crisis. Firstly, sex education is important in preventing unintended pregnancies especially among younger women. Sex education programme is already part of the school curriculum. MCYS also works with voluntary welfare organisations to conduct talks for teens and workshops for parents on how to guide their children on sex matters.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Secondly, when a woman has an unwanted pregnancy, we ensure there is relevant social service support to help her make informed choices. Expectant mothers who are in a dilemma or distress can call the 24-hour National Pregnancy Helpline. Last month, we also launched the Babes service, which is a collaboration of seven pregnancy help agencies - Beyond Social Services, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre, Family Life Society, aLife, Andrew and Grace Home and Rose Villa.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Thirdly, we work with voluntary welfare organisations to provide a safe environment for the expecting mother to carry the pregnancy to full-term. If the mother wants to give up her baby for adoption, social workers will help to make the arrangements. In a certain way, these shelters provide the same help to mothers as baby drops. Last year, through the shelters, 11 babies were successfully adopted and 20 babies were re-united with their natural families.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment We understand the intention of calling for legislation for baby drops. However, based on overseas experience, legislation has not been effective in preventing babies from being abandoned. The better approach to take is providing sex education to prevent unwanted pregnancies and assistance to women already in a pregnancy crisis. Long-term solutions to the problem of abandoned babies require preventive efforts and good support services.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Often, what is most important to a mother in a pregnancy crisis is the understanding and support of her parents and family. Family members can really make a difference and help the mother make the right decision. The community can also offer a helping hand to any expecting women in distress, and encourage them to seek help early.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Sir, I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment just have a couple of questions. First, she said earlier that similar legislation overseas which allow for baby drops have not been effective. Will the Minister of State be able to clarify what she meant by not effective legislation?
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment My second question essentially relates to social services being readily available and therefore mothers with unwanted pregnancies could go for counselling. I wonder whether the Minister will agree with me that more can be done in this regard to publicise the kind of help that is available. We all remember the telephone number for the Pizza delivery service. But can we recall the number of these help agencies on the top of our head as readily as we do recall the Pizza delivery service?
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Finally, although the Government may not be in a position to legislate to allow for baby-drop centres, I would like to ask the Minister whether the Government may be open to such a similar position at some point in time in the future.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Mr Speaker, Sir, the 24-hour National Pregnancy Helpline number is 1800-MUM-TO-BE. I think it is quite easy to remember than the Pizza number.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Let me thank the Member for his concern. The reason why legislation overseas has not been effective is that, based on overseas experience, legalised baby-drops have benefits and problems, but the problems outweigh the benefits. This includes the misuse of baby-drops to give up babies with sickness, disabled, handicapped and babies who are involved in child trafficking, babies with health risk and whose medical history is unknown, and also legal problems with parental rights if one parent does not know that the baby was given up at a baby-drop. So if we legalise baby-drops, we risk facing similar problems. Our current help arrangement is better as it incorporates the benefits of baby-drop and avoid the problems.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment If we make it legal to abandon a baby, even at a baby-drop centre, we are sending a wrong signal that it is acceptable for parents to abandon their responsibility towards their child. This contradicts the foundation of our child welfare system and promotion of the family as a cornerstone of our society.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Our three-pronged approach - preventive, support services, safe environment and crisis shelter - is better than baby-drops, and it looks after the welfare of both mother and baby. Baby-drops may save babies but do not care for the mother's health and welfare. The mother needs proper reproductive healthcare too. Most mothers who are interviewed have indicated that if their daughter is pregnant and has a baby, they want to know, so that they can support the child.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment The spirit of the Children and Young Persons Act which makes abandonment an offence is to protect the safety of children. The law is still relevant for this reason. However, we are providing many other avenues for parents who seek help if they have an unwanted pregnancy. If parents come forward to seek help early, they can be guided to make responsible choices. They will not be prosecuted for abandoning their baby. Each case is handled as confidential and managed with compassion.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Our approach of using shelters gives us the benefit of the baby-drop and there is no dumping of babies and no prosecution as there is no issue of abandonment. At the crisis shelter, the mother is given all the help she needs. Our approach, therefore, gives priority to the safety, health and welfare of both mother and baby. This is more than what baby-drop provides.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment The Member also talked about promotion and also to carry out more activities to help the VWOs to do more in this area. I totally agree. I think there is
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment still room for improvement. Definitely, my Ministry, together with the many-helping-hands approach, will do more.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Sir, I would like to ask the Minister that with regard to promoting awareness of such crisis centres, particularly to teenagers in secondary schools and beyond, are there programmes to inform the secondary school students, especially of the availability of such centres and to counsel them.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Sir, I mentioned just now that sex education is already part of the school curriculum. Also, last year, we launched the National Pregnancy Helpline 1800-MUM-TO-BE. Last month, we also launched the Babes service with seven welfare agencies, like the Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre, Beyond Social Services, Rose Villa and so on. I think they also get support from the SMRT for placing posters and brochures. Maybe if MPs and grassroots organisations want to help us to disseminate the information, we will also give more information to the ground. For instance, the Nominated MP, Miss Olsen, is also one of the spokeswomen for teenage pregnancy. I also welcome our MPs to give a helping hand.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Sir, apart from sex education in schools, I would like to know whether teachers are trained to identify and keep a look out for school girls who may be pregnant, and teachers could basically provide early intervention.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Sir, maybe the hon. Member could address this question to MOE. Anyway, MCYS also works very closely with MOE and MOH. We will try our best to take Mr Sin's advice to do more on the prevention aspect and also to help teenagers who are pregnant. So the informed choices are also very important. I would like to thank Mr Sin for his
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment suggestion. We will definitely work with the other Ministries on this.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Sir, I would like to suggest to the Minister of a more coordinated approach to increasing the awareness of the community as well as our young regarding such help as well as regarding the crisis centre and all that are available, because there have been a number of babies that have been dumped into rubbish chutes.
ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - BABY-DROP CENTRES - Establishment Mr Speaker, Sir, I said that we will definitely need to do more. But just to put the situation in a proper perspective, from the year 2000 to 2004, on the average, it was about five a year. Of course, I am not saying that the number is not big - every child's life is important. But actually in Singapore, it is quite stable and it is a controllable situation. However, we will still do our best and to take her suggestion of having an inter-Ministry approach.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Mr Speaker, Sir, the Government has been concerned about workplace safety for some time. Through various measures, we have reduced the number of accidents and deaths at workplaces over the past 10 years. But, recently, safety standards have stagnated. While our present record is better than Asian countries and regions like Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia, we still rank below Japan and most EU15 countries. There is much room for improvement, especially at construction sites.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Last year, three serious workplace accidents occurred at Nicoll Highway, the Fusionpolis complex and Keppel Shipyard. We lost 13 lives there. Only 2 1/2 months into this year, and we already have 12 fatalities from workplace mishaps. As
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Singapore becomes more densely populated with buildings and people, accidents will cause even more damage to life and property. We must take decisive actions now to avert future mishaps by raising safety standards.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK To achieve better results, my Ministry undertook a thorough review of our safety systems, which included a study tour to four European countries - Sweden, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Sweden and the UK are the top two safest places to work. In these developed countries, the thinking on occupational safety and health and how to make workplaces safer has advanced dramatically over the past three decades. I spoke not only to regulators, but also to leaders in international construction firms, unionists, academics and researchers working in private institutions.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK In terms of our development of occupational safety and health systems, we have not kept pace with the most advanced countries. Our Factories Act
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK is based on the British Factories Act, but the United Kingdom has since revised their regulatory framework. These developed countries have been able to significantly reduce accidents and deaths only after they evolved new principles and legislation to cope with changing practices. They recognise that if we just do more of what we have done in the past, improvements, if any, will only be incremental.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Overhaul framework to accelerate a safety culture
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK To achieve higher safety standards will require a change of mindsets of all stakeholders to be intolerant of safety lapses. Accidents can only be prevented if all individuals have embedded deep within them a safety culture.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Government cannot improve safety standards alone. We have to involve all stakeholders and adopt new principles to accelerate change. We need an overhaul
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK of our present system to ingrain good safety habits in all individuals at the workplace - from top management to the last worker.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Having looked at other systems and exchanged ideas with experts in those countries with excellent safety records, MOM has formulated a new framework and roadmap to improve the safety culture and achieve a quantum leap in safety standards. While our ultimate goal must be to have zero fatalities, through this new framework, we aim to first reduce deaths at workplaces by a third in five years, and by half within a decade or sooner. If we can achieve this, then we would have attained current standards comparable to the top 10 developed countries in safety.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK New principles to ingrain safety awareness
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Three principles are fundamental to our new framework. First, we should reduce risks at the source by requiring all stakeholders to minimise or eliminate risks which they create. Accepting risks presented at the workplace leads to unnecessary loss of life. Instead, under the new framework, those who create risks must be responsible and held accountable to reduce, or better still, eliminate the risks to prevent accidents. We will therefore require assessments to identify the source of risks at workplaces, the actions to reduce these risks, and the parties responsible for doing so. These responsibilities will involve persons along the whole process chain including top management. As examples, architects and engineers must ensure that their construction projects are safe to build and maintain. Manufacturers and suppliers must ensure that the machinery they supply or maintain is safe to use. Workers have a responsibility to adopt safe work practices. In other words, all persons at work must accept responsibility for their own safety, the safety of
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK those under their charge, and those they affect through their work.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK The second principle is that industry itself must be required to take greater ownership of safety outcomes. They must self-regulate to reduce the loss of life and injury to workers under their charge. Our current Factories Act is prescriptive. This encourages a mindset among management and workers to follow the “letter of the law�? and not address safety aspects outside prescribed legislation. Ownership for their workers' safety is lessened as some wait for new regulations before taking action. But it will be difficult for legislation and enforcement to always keep pace with the rapid technological changes in existing and new industries. My Ministry, through legislation and enforcement, will continue to maintain standards and set goals for industry to attain our safety targets. But self-regulation must mean that practitioners who are the most knowledgeable about the hazards that occur in their particular situation must be held responsible to develop safe work procedures. Each workplace must design and be required to put into place a safety system to adequately respond to specific hazards identified. These systems must include concrete steps for implementation to put into place safe work practices, machinery and equipment and training of personnel. Qualified safety professionals will audit these systems for adequacy and compliance. However, there will still be prescriptive guidance for clearly defined high-risk hazardous sectors and practices. This will be helpful for small and medium enterprises that will need time to adjust to this new framework.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK The third principle is that we should prevent accidents through higher penalties for poor safety management. Safety lapses resulting in mishaps are severely
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK punished, but the penalties for offences in the absence of mishaps are comparatively lower. For example, composition fines are limited to $2,000 per offence. This encourages the industry to tolerate sub-optimal safety practices until accidents occur. MOM will impose greater financial disincentives and penalties on workplaces with unsafe systems, before any accident has occurred. Key measures to facilitate change
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK To effect the new framework, I will, by the end of this year, introduce a new Workplace Safety and Health Act; set up a new Workplace Safety and Health Council; and establish an International Advisory Panel for Occupational Safety and Health.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK This new Workplace Safety and Health Act will replace the current Factories Act. It will articulate the three principles I have outlined earlier into law. It will specify liabilities for a wider range of stakeholders, strengthen personal accountability of stakeholders and key personnel, and focus more on occupational safety and health goals and systems. Safety plans will be mandated and safety officers given more responsibilities and powers. We will table the Act later this year after consulting all stakeholders.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK My Ministry will also set up a new Workplace Safety and Health Council to promote self-regulation and instil ownership in safety outcomes. The Council will involve senior management to oversee sector-specific committees to set standards and drive reforms. The Council and its committees will comprise experts and representatives from leading companies in safety and health, professional bodies, insurance companies, employer associations, unions, academics, and relevant Government agencies.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK As we catch up with the leading countries, they will also advance in their
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK occupational safety and health practices. We need to keep abreast of international developments to achieve our target of being among the top 10 safest places to work. I will therefore establish a standing International Advisory Panel to tap expertise and experience beyond our shores. The Panel will inject fresh and objective views, review and critique our regulatory regime, practices, and standards, and provide international benchmarks. This will identify our strengths and shortcomings, and enable us to continuously improve our systems and laws.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK A call to action
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK The accidents in the Nicoll Highway Collapse, Fusionpolis, and the oil tanker blast at Keppel Shipyard last year serve as stark warnings that we tolerate safety lapses at our own peril. If the Nicoll Highway Collapse had occurred at the peak of rush hour with many more cars on the road, or led to the collapse of surrounding buildings, the devastation would have been too horrendous to imagine.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK These high profile accidents are timely wake-up calls to firm and decisive action. To achieve better safety standards will require the unstinting support of all stakeholders, including regulators, employers, safety personnel, professional associations, unions, and every individual. We will consult all stakeholders as to how we can implement this new framework effectively to quickly achieve our goals. If we are determined in our collective efforts, we can make Singapore, our home, a safer place to work.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Mr Speaker, Sir, workers who have to work to earn a living here have a right to safe workplaces. As a labour MP, I would like to stress the point that the employer is the one who is responsible to make sure that the working environment is safe for all workers. Employers must be aware of
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK where the hazards are and take all necessary actions and measures in the work process to achieve a working environment that is safe for our workers. It is not about putting in place a system or just some kind of procedures or to appoint a safety officer. Shortcuts should not be taken at the expense of safety.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK I would like to ask the Minister, besides the big stick, ie, penalty, how would MOM ensure that employers will do the necessary. And I would also like to ask the Minister, in introducing a new occupational safety and health framework, whether MOM will also review the safety training framework. Look at the last few accidents that happened. Although these areas already have mandatory safety training, accidents still happened.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK It is important to understand that having knowledgeable employees is an integral part of making ---
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Mr Yeo, no speeches, please. Ask your questions.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Yes. Besides empowering the workers, a mindset change of the enforcement agencies is also necessary. What will MOM do in this area?
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Last, but not least, I would also want to ask the Minister whether he would assure us that the review would not merely be a procedural one or a procedure acting exercise which will end up in unnecessary cost for all.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Let me thank the hon. Member for his questions. I know that Mr Yeo has been at the helm of pushing for a safety review, and for good reason. Yes, I agree that employers need to hoist this in, and that is why this framework squarely puts in place the responsibility to evolve safety plans to show that they have concrete steps to put these plans into action
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK and that they have provided for materials to be bought, for equipment to be provided, to have trained their personnel. That is the gist of this new framework.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Is this a paper exercise? This is the crux of the question that Mr Yeo asked. If anybody thinks that this is a paper exercise, I would advise them to think through this, because this will be enacted into law - harsher penalties for those who do not meet the mark, more rigorous standards and achievements. But the big stick, as Mr Yeo has pointed out, has been applied before. So I think the second element, which I have talked about, is to instil ownership, and this is where the Workplace Safety and Health Council plays an integral part.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK This will take us some time to implement, but we should do this together. We will work with our stakeholders to make sure that this framework delivers the targets that I have set.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Sir, I would like to ask the Minister three questions. I fully agree and support the move to make stakeholders involved at workplace, to be responsible for safety standards and also to imbue in all of them a safety culture. But I would like to ask the Minister: why does MOM put such a long timeframe of 10 years to reduce our current worksite fatality rate of 4.9 by half, to match the safety standards achieved by the top 10 developed countries? As every fatality is one fatality too many, should we not have a more aggressive target?
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Secondly, how does the Ministry see this new approach that places responsibility for safety on all stakeholders in the operation - from the directors, top management, supervisors, right down to the site workers - impacting on business cost? Should the Ministry also not consider, as a supplement to the harsher penalties for offences or breach of safety
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK guidelines, incentives such as plus points to contractors who maintain high safety standards, ie, instead of just administering the big stick, also put the carrot in?
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Why 10 years to halve the rate? It is an important question. I fully agree with the Member that one fatality is one too many. But in setting targets, it is important for us to be realistic. The European countries took about 20 to 30 years to reach their current level. As I will explain later during the Committee of Supply, we have reached a stage where you require every individual to participate. I will provide some examples of previous accidents that had occurred. It will take about two years for this framework and message to reach down to the lowest level. If we can do it faster, I will be the first one to cheer and be glad. It took us about 10 years to halve our fatalities to reach this new base,
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK as provided in the figures. We have achieved good safety standards and, in Asia, apart from Japan, our safety standards are the next best. But looking at the experience of other countries, it would take this amount of time for us to reach to the last level before workers can internalise the safety culture.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Do I hope that we can do it faster? Of course. And if we can aim for zero fatalities, all the better. But I want to set realistic targets and milepost so that we can gauge our efforts. If we find that, within this framework, we are achieving our goals, I think it would be a good problem if we can accelerate our targets.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK How do we put in incentives for our sake? Indeed, incentives already exist. For example, under BCA or HDB's planning tender contracts, or LTA's contracts, they do put in place incentive systems where someone shows a good safety record, particular incentives are given. I agree that more needs to be done there and we will look into ways that we can incentivise that.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK I think one key area is for the Workplace Safety and Health Council to put out information into the market about the good as well as those with not so good safety records. In terms of business costs, I take it this would impact companies who have not taken time to build up the safety systems. And indeed, that is the right thing to do. Those who invested time and effort and resources into building up their safety practices need not fear that this will increase costs disproportionately.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Sir, I would like to thank the Minister for announcing and putting forth this framework. As my colleagues Mr Yeo and Dr Khor said, the key is how to filter it down to operation and action. I am pleased to hear that the Minister is earnestly keen to bring down accidents and improve safety standards. But I have four questions for the Minister. Firstly, I think the Government should actually take the lead in promoting safety standards. How to do this is to actually impose in the Government contracts as the requirements in the tender contracts, whereby specifications should be made very clear as to the minimum safety standards that are needed in accordance with the norms of those industries of the tenders. In this manner, the tenderers themselves are forced by such contracts to apply the required safety standards and therefore improve their own safety measures.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Secondly, how can we recognise companies that adopt good practices and safety measures? Again, perhaps, in the tenders, both for Government as well as private sector, it should be encouraged that premiums can be given for companies that propose and practise good safety measures. For example, insurance premiums can be a factor that can help them to lower their cost.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Thirdly, the Minister mentioned about halving the defects in about 10 years. I
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK share Dr Khor's point on why just half in 10 years. Why not have a more aggressive target? Why not have a zero defect at the workplace? Because as we said, every fatality is still a death that we do not want. We should aim for a zero target in every workplace. It should be a zero defect or zero fatality as the target for all industries and the Government sector.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Finally, on compensation. I share the view that we should have higher penalty for the employers. But why not have higher compensations for the injured employees? We should also take care of the injured employees. We should put in the law that employers who have bad practices and cause injuries should actually pay higher compensation for their injured employees.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Sir, I am cheered by Mr Leong's comments. He represents employers, and all that he has said makes good sense. He represents the group of employers who are enlightened and realised that safety must be internalised through business processes and costs. But we will certainly take his suggestions to heart, in terms of Government taking the lead, and I think that is the right stance. In principle, I agree.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Should we also build in systems where insurance companies' premiums can incentivise those with good safety practices and, as a corollary, these incentivise or penalise those with poor performances? I think, yes. France has a very complicated system where they actually compute based on the number of accidents and workmen's compensation. We want to start by putting out the information there. As I said, the Workplace Safety and Health Council can do this at regular intervals. In other words, it should publish to all and sundry, what your workplace safety performance has been. This will impact on the insurance, this will impact
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK on the employees wanting to join the company, and this will also impact on the developers who want to give them contracts. That will make sense.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Should we aim for zero fatality? For sure. Let us do it. If we can do it, the faster the better. But, as I said, this is a realistic target. If I fall short of this target, I would ramp up the system. But this is the base. If we can move faster, let us do it.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK In terms of compensation for workmen's injuries, yes, we do need to look at it. The compensation is higher, but the figure is always relative. So if there is a need for review, we will do so.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK I will just have another two short ones because we are going to MOM COS after the Ministerial Statement.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Sir, as the Minister has agreed that the Government should take the lead, may I ask what are the soft skills required to achieve the target set? Has his Ministry the adequate soft skills to enforce the new framework on this aspect?
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Sir, we will need both hard skills and soft skills, hard tactics too. Hard tactics would be the harsh penalties that we will put into place. What Mr Seng Han Thong quite rightly means are the soft skills, in other words, to change our enforcement. Yes, we do need to build the capability. We will be sending safety officers for a longer attachment to countries which have better safety records so that they can learn these soft skills.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT - A NEW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FRAMEWORK Sir, there are two points that I would like to seek clarification from the Minister. Firstly, I fully support the framework, focus and emphasis. However, I am a