Singapore, 7 May 2014 – The 3rd run of the biennial Singapore Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Conference 2014 opened today with a congregation of more than 900 business leaders, WSH experts and delegates from all over the world to discuss the WSH development in the region. Themed “Integrating Safety and Health: Towards a Holistic Approach”, the two-day Conference held on 7 – 8 May, address emerging WSH issues and share best practices to tackle these issues.
 
Adopting a holistic approach towards WSH
As Singapore’s economic activities evolve and working population mature, health conditions related to work are also changing from traditional occupational diseases to include more “work-related” conditions such as musculoskeletal disorders and chronic illnesses. Recognising the need to adopt a holistic approach in WSH, the Conference addresses these challenges and how WSH plays an important part in boosting staff morale, improving productivity and sustaining business success.
 
In his opening address1 at the Conference, Mr Heng Chiang Gnee, Deputy Chairman of the WSH Council added, “As working population matures and our business landscape evolves, enterprise risk management continues to be a very important component. It is therefore not surprising that leading organisations place much attention to WSH in order to overcome these new challenges.”
 
Renowned local and international leaders in WSH will also be participating in in-depth dialogue on challenges and solutions in integrating WSH practices during the two-day conference, including Mr Lucas Ng, General Manager (Plant), Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (Private) Limited, Mr Kevin Myers, Acting Chief Executive, Health and Safety Executive, United Kingdom; and Mr Steve Horvath, President and CEO, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.
 
On Day 1 of the Conference, the discussions will focus on the importance of integrating safety and health, how it makes business sense and everyone has a role to play in WSH. On Day 2, speakers will discuss on addressing risks upstream, managing workplace diversity, improving WSH across small and medium enterprises and sharing of innovative and successful WSH practices.
 
Satellite events to reinforce the importance of WSH
In conjunction with the Conference, a series of satellite events2 are been lined up this week from 6 to 10 May. Organised by satellite event partners, these include the 9th Occupational Safety + Health Exhibition Asia (OS+H Asia) 2014; the 1st ASEAN: OSH Challenges & Opportunities Conference; the Forum on Workplace Safety + Health; Total Workplace Safety and Health – A Holistic Approach to Managing Safety, Health and Wellbeing Seminar, and others.
 
The Forum on Workplace Safety + Health which will be held on 9 May, will facilitate the discussion on emerging issues in WSH and the sharing of good safety and health practices, technological advances and innovative ideas as well as the benefits of adopting Design for Safety (DfS). Concurrently from 7 to 9 May 2014, the 9th OS+H Asia Exhibition 2014 will showcase a comprehensive selection of WSH-focused innovative solutions for various industries and global occupational safety and health professionals. In addition, the inaugural ASEAN-OSHNET Conference will take place on 8 May 2014 and bring together government officials, industry, safety and health professionals and service providers to exchange knowledge and ideas from one another. The ASEAN-OSHNET Conference also aims to provide a platform for companies to showcase how they have helped shape the WSH landscape in Singapore and the ASEAN region.
 
Launch of the National WSH Campaign 2014
Aligned with the Conference’s theme, the WSH Council, in collaboration with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), launched the annual National WSH Campaign 20143 earlier this morning. Guest of Honour Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam4 unveiled a new television commercial to kickstart the year-long campaign to raise WSH awareness on the importance of integrating safety and health. With a new tagline “How you work is how you live”, the campaign will highlight the impact of our habits and the risks we take at work on our daily lives.
 
A new Guide to Total WSH, jointly developed by the WSH Council, MOM and the Health Promotion Board, was also launched at the Campaign. The guide aims to address the interconnected issues of WSH together with the well-being of employees by helping employers manage the safety, health and well-being of workers in the workplace using the Total WSH5 approach. Recognising that companies need to apply upstream measures to better manage workplace risks, the Government will mandate DfS and require developers to ensure designs are safe to build. An inter-agency will be formed to work out the implementation details of the DfS framework, in consultation with the industry. The regulatory requirements and timeframe for their implementation will be announced by the end of this year.
 
The strong support from key organisations such as the Health Promotion Board (HPB), Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (iOSH), International Labour Organization (ILO), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), Singapore Institution of Safety Officers (SISO), and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) affirms the important role of government leaders and employees in tackling future WSH challenges.
 
1 Please refer to Annex A for the full speech for the opening of Singapore WSH Conference 2014.
2 For a complete listing of the satellite events, visit www.singaporewshconference.sg/satelliteevents.html
3 Please refer to Annex B for more details on the National WSH Campaign 2014 focus and tagline.
4 For the full speech by DPM Tharman, visit http://app.mof.gov.sg/newsroom_details.aspx?type=speech&cmpar_year=2014&news_sid=20140507712025807093
5 Refer to Annex C for the Total WSH factsheet.
 
 
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About the Singapore Workplace Safety and Health Conference
The biennial Singapore WSH Conference is Asia Pacific’s premier platform that brings together industry and business leaders and government officials to exchange best practices, develop innovative WSH solutions and raise industry standards in Asia. The Singapore WSH Conference 2014 is co-organised by the Workplace Safety and Health Council, Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Workplace Safety and Health Institute.
 
About Singapore Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council
The Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council was established on 1 April 2008. It comprises 18 leaders from the major industry sectors (including construction, manufacturing, marine industries, petrochemicals and logistics), the government, unions and professionals from the legal, insurance and academic fields. The Council works closely with the Ministry of Manpower and other Government agencies, the industry, unions and professional associations to develop strategies to raise WSH standards in Singapore and to realise the national WSH 2018 strategy. The Council's main functions are to build industry capabilities to better manage WSH; promote safety and health at work and recognise companies with good WSH records; and set acceptable WSH practices.
 
About Singapore Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Institute
The WSH Institute was envisioned as a key initiative to build strong WSH capabilities in Singapore and to put Singapore’s WSH performance on par with leading countries in this area. The Institute’s work will help deepen stakeholders’ understanding of how current and emerging work environments, work processes and worker behaviour shape WSH, and use such knowledge to develop solutions and improve WSH practices.
For more information, visit http://www.singaporewshconference.sg/.
 
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