Workplace fatalities up to 30 in the first half

Occupational diseases also increased from 124 in 2010 to 361 in 2011.

The first half of this year saw an increase in number of workplace fatalities and occupational diseases compared to the same period last year, according to the latest Workplace Safety and Health Report released by the WSH Council.

Between January and June 2011, the number of workplace fatalities increased to 30 from 25 in 2010. 77% of fatalities came from the three traditional sectors – Marine, Construction and Manufacturing. These sectors also accounted for about 78% of permanent disablements and occupational diseases.

According to the report, the number of occupational diseases went up to 361 in 2011, primarily due to the increased reporting of Noise-Induced Deafness (NID) related cases.

“More NID cases were reported following an island-wide audit exercise by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). The audit checked on the noise levels of these companies and the hearing of their workers,” said the WSH Council.

However, the WSH Council noted that the overall number of workplace injuries fell by 8% and permanent disablements fell by 37%.

Chairman of the WSH Council Lee Tzu Yang commented, “Although the number of workplace injuries has been declining by 5% to 8% over the last two years, we can see that we cannot afford to relax. Despite the drop in overall injuries, workplace fatalities have increased this half year. Any workplace incident has the potential of resulting in an injury or a fatality, so our goal must be to prevent all workplace incidents.”

Employers, according to the WSH Council Chairman, must make safety an integral part of operations while employees in turn need to follow the safety rules. “Everyone must put safety first,” said Lee.