Workplace fatalities up 4.5% in 2009

Despite the 2.1 percent drop in overall work injuries last year, the Workplace Safety and Health Council calls on employers to keep workers safe at work and prevent unnecessary loss of life.

According to the WSH Statistics Report, "The workplace fatality rate also saw a slight rise from 2.8 deaths per 100,000 persons employed in 2008 to 2.9 in 2009. This is the first increase since 2005 and reflects the need to strengthen efforts on key factors that contribute to workplace fatalities."

In particular, the construction and marine sectors accounted for most of the fatalities (63 percent) in 2009. The report notes employment in construction rose by 25,100 due to continued high level of work activities, accompanied by a 17 percent increase in its overall 2009 fatality rate from 2008.

Meanwhile the marine sector had the same number of fatalities in 2008 and 2009, but with lower employment numbers saw the fatality rate rise from 9.2 to to 11.1 per 100,000 employed persons, a 21 percent increase from 2008.

WSH Council Chairman Lee Tzu Yang said, "While we can take heart that the overall number of work injuries has gone down, we are deeply concerned about the increase in work fatalities. We must pay attention to both higher hazard sectors such as construction and marine and less familiar sectors such as hotels and other service activities."

"To address the 63 percent of the fatalities that came from the construction and marine sectors, MOM will focus our enforcement checks in these industries in the months ahead, covering both large and small companies. In our checks, besides on-site conditions, we will also look closely at whether companies have taken adequate measures to implement proper WSH systems, practices and employee training," said Ministry of Manpower Commissioner for WSH Ho Siong Hin.