Opening Address at Workplace Safety and Health Awards 2026

Minister of State for Manpower, Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash, Sands Grand Ballroom

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

Members of the WSH Council and WSH Council Committees,

Tripartite and industry partners,

Winners of the WSH Awards,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Introduction

Good evening. I am delighted to join you for the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Awards 2026, my second time attending this event in two years. This, as they say, is the Oscars of safety and health. More importantly, it is an occasion for us to say thank you to all of you, particularly those who have done exceptionally well in keeping our workers safe and ensuring that our workplaces are safe.

Tonight, we celebrate organisations and individuals whose leadership and commitment have helped make workplaces across Singapore safer, healthier and more resilient.

To our award winners this evening, many of you operate in complex and demanding work environments. Yet, you have consistently achieved strong WSH outcomes year after year. This shows one thing: workplace injuries are preventable when you have the right processes, leadership and culture. I am immensely proud of each and every one of you. Well done for keeping your colleagues safe.

Building on Our WSH Progress

We have seen a marked improvement in Singapore’s WSH performance over the years. We have brought the workplace fatal injury rate down to around one per 100,000 workers in recent years. This is a world-class level of safety and health that only a few developed countries have attained.

This reflects a change in culture, but we must make sure that it is sustained. That can only be done through deliberate effort, starting with the belief that all injuries are preventable.

We can and must do better. Tonight, let me set out three ways: recognise excellence in the workplace, help more companies improve their safety standards, and constantly update our standards so that they remain future-ready.

Celebrate Exemplary Performance

First, we celebrate exemplary WSH performance. This is why we are here this evening. Our 367 award winners are role models for all of us. I am also told that we have 220 tables, far more than last year, and more than 2,200 guests in the ballroom. This is testament to the strong safety culture that we are building in Singapore, step by step. Thank you to all our award winners and to everyone for being here.

I would like to highlight one award winner seated at my table: YTL CE and Builder Pte Ltd, a construction SME. This year, it is receiving three awards: the WSH Performance (Gold) Award, the bizSAFE Partner Award and the CARE Award.

Its achievements send a powerful message: WSH excellence is not determined by the size of a company. It is shaped by the strength of its leadership, commitment and culture. YTL has embedded WSH into the way it plans its work, engages its employees and makes business decisions.

Beyond its own operations, YTL has worked closely with its contractors and business partners to raise WSH standards across its supply chain. Today, all 24 of its business partners have attained bizSAFE Level 3 or higher.

This is an important lesson. Few companies operate alone today. Strong safety outcomes depend not only on what happens within an organisation, but also across its network of contractors, suppliers and partners. Bringing others along and uplifting them is also a leadership responsibility that I hope all of us will take away.

Well done to YTL CE and Builder Pte Ltd, and to all our other award winners this evening.

Help More Companies Improve Through StaySAFE

Second, we must help more companies improve. Not every company is at the same stage of WSH maturity. Our task is to help each one take its next step by building the capability to protect its workers. We are here to support you on that journey.

To support companies in this effort, the WSH Council is launching the StaySAFE programme. StaySAFE is an enhancement of the earlier StartSAFE programme, which helped companies, particularly SMEs, begin their safety journey by having a WSH consultant visit their site and advise them on safety improvements.

As its name suggests, StaySAFE goes beyond helping companies start their safety journey. It supports them to stay the course and keep strengthening their WSH performance.

StaySAFE supports reviews of past near-misses and workplace incidents using root cause analysis methods, which were not available under StartSAFE. It offers a more tailored diagnosis of each company’s key risks and advice specific to its operations. In addition, StaySAFE is open to all firms, beyond the SMEs and bizSAFE firms that were eligible under previous programmes.

For companies with limited knowledge of safety practices, StaySAFE is a good way to kick-start their safety know-how. For companies that already have experience in risk management, StaySAFE can help sustain progress by offering a second opinion on areas where they can do better.

Update Safety Standards

Third, our safety standards must keep pace with emerging risks and lessons from Singapore and abroad.

In this regard, the Ministry of Manpower will require scaffold netting to be made of fire-retardant materials for newly awarded projects from 1 March 2027. Together with the reduction in the duration of timber scaffold usage announced earlier in July 2026, these moves will help reduce fire risks at worksites.

Under this new requirement, occupiers, scaffold contractors, manufacturers and suppliers must ensure that the scaffold netting used has been tested in accordance with any one of the three established international fire test standards identified by MOM and the Singapore Civil Defence Force as relevant to Singapore’s operating environment.

MOM will issue a circular setting out the scope of the new requirements, acceptable fire test standards and compliance measures, including labelling and certification requirements. The details will also be made available on MOM’s website. We will work closely with industry stakeholders to support a smooth transition ahead of 1 March 2027.

These three approaches will help strengthen our safety culture. As Mr Abu Bakar said, two of the main ingredients for sustaining a strong safety culture in Singapore are leadership and culture.

Conclusion

To all our award winners this evening, congratulations. Your commitment, leadership and perseverance have advanced Singapore’s WSH journey and shown others what it means to create a safe workplace and ensure that our workers return home safely to their families.

Each of us has a part to play. The Government will continue to strengthen our WSH framework and support companies in building their capabilities. Employers must make safety a business priority. Workers must be empowered to speak up, intervene and look out for one another.

Let us continue to be vigilant. I wish everyone a safe and fulfilling year ahead.

Thank you very much.