Renovation firm fined $8,000 for multiple workplace safety lapses
A renovation firm was fined $8,000 after an inspection by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) found it had flouted several workplace safety rules.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the ministry said it conducted the inspection at a two-storey shophouse at Eng Kong Terrace in Bukit Batok on June 8, following public feedback about unsafe work-at-height being done.
Workers at the site were on the roof without any fall protection or barricades to prevent them from falling off, and there were no guardrails on the scaffolds, among other violations.
On top of that, essential documents including the risk assessment and fall prevention plans were unavailable.
The occupier, J & C Renovation Enterprise, was directed to stop work immediately, as the safety lapses posed an immediate danger to workers.
Mr Sebastian Tan, MOM’s director of occupational safety and health inspectorate, said: “It was clear from our inspection that the safety of the workers was not a priority for J & C Renovation Enterprise.”
Thanking the individual who alerted the ministry to the unsafe practices being carried out, he added that reporting such actions could save lives.
“When everyone plays their part in looking out for the safety and health of workers, we can collectively raise Singapore’s workplace safety and health standards and prevent workplace incidents from happening,” he said.
Workplace safety has been in the spotlight since 2022, when there were 46 workplace deaths – the highest number since the 66 in 2016.
The rise in fatalities led to MOM imposing a heightened safety period on Sept 1, 2022. It was originally meant to end on Feb 28 this year, but was extended until May 31 to curb the trend.
As at June 21, there have been 14 workplace deaths, with the latest involving a 20-year-old worker from India who was pinned under 2m of debris after part of the Fuji Xerox Towers building in Tanjong Pagar collapsed during demolition works.
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