The high costs of neglecting workplace safety

ON a fateful Sunday recently, a 68-year-old Grab car driver took the last ride of his life. His death after an accident in Ang Mo Kio was Singapore’s 40th workplace casualty this year.

For some companies, workplace safety measures may seem costly to implement. Yet – besides the obvious moral obligation – the costs of workplace accidents are far greater than the costs of preventing them, industry players told The Business Times (BT).

Over the years, the general fatality count has declined, although it has risen since 2020. With about two months left in the year, the 40 workplace deaths so far already surpass the full-year counts of 37 in 2021 and 39 in 2019.