Workplace fatality rate hits record low in 2023

Major injury rate lowest in decade; highest combined rates seen in manufacturing

- Christine Tan and Gracia Yap

For every 100,000 workers, about 16 had major injuries at work, and fewer than one died on the job in 2023.

This is Singapore's lowest workplace fatality rate, and is the lowest workplace major injury rate in a decade, not including 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in its annual workplace safety and health report on March 27.

The top two sectors for workplace incidents - the construction and the transportation and storage sectors saw a decrease in both their combined fatal and major injury rates.

But the manufacturing sector was flagged by MOM for having the highest combined fatal and major injury rates.

Still, excluding 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions, such as foreign workers having to stop work, 2023 was the first time the workplace fatality rate fell below the one per 100,000 workers mark.

Thirty-six workers died in 2023, a 21.7 per cent drop from the 46 deaths in 2022. This is a workplace death rate of 0.99 per 100,000 workers, down from 1.3 in 2022.

Having the workplace fatality rate fall below one per 100,000 workers was a goal Singapore had set to achieve by 2028, a number only the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Britain had consistently attained.

The low numbers come after a heightened safety period from Sept 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023, and new measures to stem workplace incidents. These included giving small and medium-sized enterprises more resources to improve their safety processes.