WSH Bulletin, 23 November 2020: Thank you for making the Singapore WSH Conference 2020 a success!

Nov 23, 2020

23 November, Ref: 1920073

Thank you for making The Singapore WSH Conference 2020 a success!

We are immensely appreciative that over 1,800 participants from Singapore and across
the Asia Pacific, including Japan, South Korea, and Australia, have given their support in
attending the sixth edition of The Singapore WSH Conference.

There is little doubt that the importance of workplace safety and health, especially in terms
of our employees’ wellness, safety, and mental well-being, has come to the fore in 2020,
and will become an integral part of the workplace for years to come.

At Plenary 4: Tripartite Panel Discussion, there was much discussion as to how we live
and work amidst a pandemic, and draw lessons from the pandemic to better prepare our
workforce for the future of work. The panel touched on digital transformation such as the
use of technology to enable remote working, and how new technology such as automation
can bring in new WSH challenges; and delved into how businesses can help employees
work from home. The pandemic has also pushed regulators to re-examine their policies for
labour relations and manpower to help businesses regain a solid footing.

The panel discussed ways to safeguard employees, the need to reimagine and redefine
work while “living” with COVID-19, and how things can be done differently to ensure that
employees are safe, healthy and productive as work resumes. The panellists from MOM,
WSH Council, NTUC and SNEF also spoke of what can be done to strengthen our
workforce’s mental resilience in managing productivity and balancing it with mental well-being.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State for Manpower, closed the Conference, stressing
on the importance of enhancing the workers’ mental health. He underscored what speakers
like Professor David Chan, Director of the Behavioural Sciences Institute at SMU, had
shared during the Conference, that “stress and strain associated with the COVID-19 crisis can
be addressed through rearrangement and redesign of job duties and work processes”. This not
only contributes to the workers’ physical and mental well-being, but also work productivity,
and better quality of life, both at work and outside work.

Mr Zaqy also described how the International Advisory Panel for Workplace Safety and Health
has called for greater accountability by company leadership, supporting the development of
an Approved Code of Practice to educate and engage company directors on their responsibilities
and the ways to ensure WSH risks are effectively managed.

Read welcome address by Mr John Ng, Chairman of WSH Council here.
Read opening address by Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister for Manpower here.
Read closing address by Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State for Manpower here.

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