SINGAPORE – Two accidents last month have shown that trucks and lorries should not be used to transport migrant workers, and the labour movement is working with partners to push for the implementation of different transport arrangements as soon as possible, said National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) assistant secretary-general Melvin Yong on Sunday (May 9).

In a blog post written in the wake of calls by advocacy groups to stop using lorries to transport workers, Mr Yong said the NTUC and the Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees’ Union (Batu) are engaging the Singapore Contractors Association Ltd (SCAL) to advocate new arrangements.

It is also in talks with the relevant government agencies to address issues of implementation, such as cost.

Mr Yong said that he was “deeply disturbed” by the accidents last month, which took place within four days of each other and are now under investigation. One resulted in 10 people injured, and the other 15 hurt and two dead.

“There is a perfectly viable alternative to transport our migrant workers – in buses, equipped with seat belts,” said Mr Yong.

But the labour movement is keenly aware of the challenges faced by companies in implementing this, he said, given that many are already reeling from the financial impact of the prolonged pandemic, or worry that there may not be a sufficient supply of buses to transport the more than 350,000 migrant workers here.

INTERIM RECOMMENDATIONS

In the interim, he made four recommendations to boost transport safety for migrant workers. They are: getting employers to hire a dedicated driver to transport their workers; outlawing the co-mingling of goods and passengers on vehicles; reviewing the speed limit of vehicles when passengers are on board and getting them to belt up; and stepping up enforcement.

Mr Yong cited a commentary on the issue by ST senior transport correspondent Christopher Tan and said he agreed with many of his recommendations. He also echoed Mr Tan’s observation that many of these vehicles are not driven by vocational drivers.

“There still exist many companies, especially those outside of the construction sector, that require their workers to double-hat as a driver after a full work shift – and this practice must stop,” he wrote. Instead, firms should have a dedicated driver to ferry migrant workers to various worksites to eliminate fatigue, and drivers should also be required to have a vocational driving license, he said.

It is also unsafe for there to be both goods and passengers sharing the same space on vehicles. Heavy goods and equipment that were not properly secured could shift and pin passengers in an accident, or if the vehicle braked suddenly, said Mr Yong, who called for this practice to be outlawed.

If employers use lorries to transport their workers, the risk level can also be reduced significantly by securing the passengers with proper seat belts as well as by restricting the lorry’s travelling speed when transporting workers, he said.

Lastly, proper and sustained enforcement is needed.

“The Land Transport Authority and Traffic Police must clamp down hard on speeding among goods vehicles, which not only put our workers in danger, but also other road users at risk,” said Mr Yong, urging workers to alert the Ministry of Manpower on its hotline at 63171111 or through the SnapSafe app if they feel that they are being transported in an unsafe manner.

Measures to boost the safety of migrant workers on transport will inevitably lead to additional costs, and the labour movement is fully aware of the difficult economic situation faced by many employers during the pandemic, said Mr Yong.

He urged the Government to help offset the financial burden that would be borne by employers should these measures be implemented. For instance, buses that are used to transport workers could be exempted from needing a Certificate of Entitlement, in the way that school buses are exempted.

An early adopter grant to incentivise employers to purchase or lease buses to transport their workers could also be provided, he added.

“I believe that this is a necessary price to pay to ensure the safety of the workers who have left their home country to help build our nation,” said Mr Yong.

On Friday, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the number of people injured or killed while on board lorries has been falling in the last 10 years, since safety measures were rolled out to protect workers.

From 2011 to 2015, there was an average of nine fatalities a year. But the corresponding figure for 2016 to 2020 was 2.6 a year.

LTA also said that the average injury rate from 2011 to 2020 was 8.7 people per 1,000 lorries, comparable to the injury rate for the total motor vehicle population of about 8.6 people per 1,000 vehicles.

It also said – in response to questions from the media – that Singapore is not alone in using goods vehicles to transport people.

At least one MP is expected to ask, when Parliament sits this week, whether buses or minibuses should be used instead to transport workers.

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