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Opening Address at WSH Awards 2025

Minister of State for Manpower Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash, Sands Expo and Convention Centre

Workplace safety and health

Mr Abu Bakar Mohd Nor, Chairman of the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council,

Members of the WSH Council and WSH Council Committees,

Tripartite and industry partners,

MOM colleagues,

Award recipients,

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

Introduction

  1. Good evening to all of you. It is an honour to be here with all of you, celebrating the achievements of Singapore’s workplace safety and health (WSH) community.

     

  2. The sheer number of award recipients, your supporters and the WSH community gathered here is a strong sign of your collective commitment to WSH. Each workplace incident is considered a tragedy, and we should limit incidents to zero.

     

    Strengthening Singapore’s WSH Performance

  3. In the first half of 2025, Singapore recorded 17 workplace fatalities, with an annualised fatal injury rate of 0.92 per 100,000 workers. This is an encouraging sign, and we are on track to achieve our WSH2028 target of less than 1.0 – thanks to all your efforts. To sustain this progress through the rest of the year, let us continue to uphold WSH vigilance and remain committed to workplace safety.

     

  4. Sectoral performance has also improved. Take the metalworking industry within the manufacturing sector as an example. Once one of the highest contributors of fatal and major injuries, it has seen sustained reductions over the past three years.

     

  5. These improvements reflect a strong emphasis in the efforts of our tripartite partners, companies, WSH professionals, and workers. They show what is possible when companies take strong ownership and create a positive safety culture. Let’s also take this call not to be complacent and continue to be vigilant as we have been from the start.

     

    Celebrating the Best

  6. At its heart, WSH is about conviction to uphold high standards, care for workers, and commitment to keep improving. These qualities are evident in tonight’s award recipients.

     

  7. As a WSH Advocate, C&W Services (S) Pte Ltd has demonstrated conviction as it requires all partner contractors to be at least bizSAFE Level 3 certified, and in the past year alone supported 64 new contractors, with 27 attaining bizSAFE STAR.

     

  8. Beyond compliance, safety is embedded in its culture – from “Safety Hour” awards that recognise top contractors, to the use of drones, smart reporting, and AI monitoring. C&W Services exemplifies how conviction in WSH can create a powerful ripple effect of safer, more resilient workplaces across the industry.

     

  9. Thermo Fisher Biopharma Services Pte Ltd stands out tonight with multiple recognition – receiving the CARE Award for exemplary mental workplace well-being practices, the WSH Performance Award (Silver) for their consistent commitment to WSH, and the bizSAFE Partner Awards for their efforts in developing and uplifting their contractors.

     

  10. The company has built an inclusive and caring workplace through initiatives such as Belonging Week, global counselling support, and regular team mental health check-ins.

     

  11. Importantly, Thermo Fisher works closely with fellow CARE Award recipients - Amgen Singapore Manufacturing and Lonza Biological Tuas. They often share practices that strengthen psychological safety and employee well-being. Together, these companies show that care can be extended beyond individual worksites to shape sector-wide improvements.

     

  12. Finally, commitment. First-time recipient from the marine sector, Jason Electronics (Pte) Ltd shows us how SMEs can make a difference and raise safety standards when commitment runs deep.

     

  13. Operating in high-risk environments such as vessel boarding, work at heights, and confined spaces, the company demonstrates a proactive approach by implementing safe boarding procedures, suspending operations whenever conditions are unsafe. Complementing this preventive measure, it equips all its staff with life vests fitted with Personal Locator Beacons as an emergency fallback.

     

  14. Guided by bizSAFE, its WSH progress is reinforced by leadership commitment, with the CEO completing the Top Executive WSH Programme early.

     

  15. It also shows us that even SMEs with competing demands can set high standards when commitment to safety is at the core of their operations.

     

  16. Once again, thank you to C&W Services, Thermo Fisher, and Jason Electronics for your exemplary workplace safety culture and commitment.

     

    Strengthening Safety for the Future through bizSAFE

  17. The bizSAFE programme has helped many other companies across various industries become safer, by teaching them the structured process of Risk Management – systematically identifying risks and implementing control measures.

     

  18. However, we must evolve bizSAFE in the changing landscape. So, MOM and the WSH Council are reviewing how bizSAFE can be enhanced, together with tripartite and industry association partners, to be even more effective and reflective of good WSH performance.

     

  19. One area that we are studying is how bizSAFE can strengthen motivation and ownership through forging stronger links to WSH performance while putting more emphasis on training and adoption of progressive WSH practices. This way, bizSAFE accreditation will better reflect actual safety standards, on top of RM knowledge, and service buyers can more confidently choose contractors who are truly safe.

     

  20. Industry consultations are ongoing, and we will engage more companies in the months ahead to make our bizSAFE review ready for the future.

     

  21. We envisage finalising the review in 2026, to shape bizSAFE into an even more progressive and effective one that supports companies in raising WSH standards. A more robust bizSAFE will help service buyers to be more discerning when selecting their contractors and vendors.

  22. I thank those of you and your associations that have already given my team feedback, and I look forward to strengthening this flagship initiative together.

     

    Closing

  23. I think the best way to highlight this shared safety culture is to show how it has become part of our safety DNA, across all sectors and industries, whether large or small.

  24. If I may borrow the words of Mr Abu Bakar, it all starts with leadership. All of you here are leaders in your businesses, in workplace safety, and in building the right culture. As you cascade these values down to your staff, to every worker, and even to your subcontractors, you are making sure that everyone returns home safely.

     

  25. That is how we will continue raising Singapore’s safety standards in the years ahead.

     

  26. I wish you a safe, prosperous and happy year ahead. Thank you.