NTUC: Unions and Companies Must Work Closely to Effectively Reduce Number of Workplace Incidents

~ A total of 19 unions and companies, including SMEs, received awards at the NTUC U Safe Forum and Awards 2022; highest number awarded so far ~

 

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) brings back the NTUC U Safe Forum & Awards 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. This year, a total of 19 unions and companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), received the U Safe award to recognise them for championing workplace safety and shaping a healthier and safer workplace for our workers. This is the highest number of awards conferred to date since the inaugural event was held in 2015. The event, which was held at the Devan Nair Institute of Employment and Employability today, was graced by Guest-of-Honour, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Manpower and Ministry of Defence, Zaqy Mohamad.

 

This year’s awards are conferred to unions, unionised companies as well as U SME partners who have showed exemplary efforts in upholding workplace safety standards, which included efforts from adopting workplace safety and health (WSH) technology to monitor workplace safety, to taking care of the health and mental wellbeing of workers. It also showcased the commitment of the unions and company management in working closely together to create a safer workplace.

 

Worrying trend of workplace incidents in 2022 signalled urgent need for action

 

As of October this year, there have been 40 workplace fatalities, which surpassed the 37 recorded in the entire year of 2021. Majority of these incidents involved workers from non-unionised companies, or sub-contractors at workplaces occupied by non-unionised companies.

 

In a bid to reduce the number of workplace incidents and fatalities, NTUC has been actively calling for all companies, regardless of its size and industry, to strengthen their WSH practices. This includes setting up a WSH committee at the workplace to regularly review and improve safety practices and providing accessible reporting channels for workers to flag any potentially unsafe incidents. NTUC has also been urging the top management leaders of companies to increase their commitment towards WSH, as these leaders are often the ones who can shape the WSH culture in a company and allocate resources to improve WSH.

 

NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Melvin Yong, who delivered the opening speech at the U Safe Forum and Awards, expressed that “The number of workplace fatalities recorded this year has been deeply concerning. Many of these incidents could have been avoided if basic workplace safety and health measures had been implemented. Through the NTUC U Safe Forum and Awards, we want to recognise the efforts of unions and companies who have done well in keeping our workers and workplaces safe. It is encouraging to note that the number of workplace incidents can be successfully reduced when our unions and company managements work closely and are committed towards the safety of our workers and the workplaces.”

 

Unions and companies recognised for their efforts in keeping workers and workplaces safe 

 

At the U Safe Forum and Awards 2022, a total of 19 awards were presented to unions, companies, and SMEs. Three different award categories were presented:

 

a. U Safe Advocate Award (Union)

Conferred to five unions who:

i. Proactively promoted WSH best practices

ii. Engaged branch officials and management partners to improve WSH outcomes

iii. Raised issues and proposed solutions to enhance WSH at their respective workplaces

iv. Engaged union leaders to cultivate WSH-competencies through training and knowledge transfer

 

b. U Safe Champions Award (Company)

Conferred to 12 unionised companies who:

i. Involved all stakeholders and showcased strong commitment by the senior management to improve WSH

ii. Actively analysed the company’s WSH performance and demonstrated sustained WSH improvements, such as the formation of task forces to tackle common incident agents

iii. Implemented WSH programmes and health initiatives that reduced workplace injuries by an average of 20% and improved the wellbeing of workers

 

c. U Safe U SME Award (SME)

Conferred to two SMEs who:

i. Are partners of NTUC U SME and demonstrated the same attributes as the companies

 

For more details of the awardees, please download the list below.