Breakdown of Fatal and Major Workplace Injuries Across bizSAFE Certification Levels and Measures to Encourage Wider Uptake of bizSAFE Certification
Ministry of ManpowerSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the breakdown of workplace injuries across bizSAFE certification levels and efforts to enhance the certification programme, raised by Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye to the Acting Minister for Manpower. In response, Ms Jasmin Lau stated that out of 696 fatal and major injury cases in 2025, 47% involved non-bizSAFE firms, while 53% involved certified firms, comprising 30% from bizSAFE STAR, 18% from Level 3, and 5% from Level 4 firms. She cautioned that this comparison does not account for industry risk profiles, as firms with higher bizSAFE levels are often in higher-risk sectors. Acknowledging that certification alone does not ensure better safety outcomes are internalised, she noted that the Ministry of Manpower and the Workplace Safety and Health Council are reviewing the bizSAFE programme. The review seeks to strengthen the link between certification and actual safety performance, emphasising progressive safety practices so service buyers can more confidently engage certified contractors.
Transcript
67 Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) in the past year, how many fatal or major workplace injuries involved companies without bizSAFE certification, compared with companies at each bizSAFE level; and (b) whether the ongoing review of the bizSAFE programme will consider these safety outcomes and measures to encourage more companies to attain bizSAFE certification.
Ms Jasmin Lau: In 2025, there were 696 cases of fatal and major injuries. Of these, 47% involved non-bizSAFE firms, while the remaining 53% involved bizSAFE-certified firms across various levels – 30% from bizSAFE STAR firms, 18% from Level 3 firms, and 5% from Level 4 firms. This comparison should be interpreted with caution as the data does not take into account the industry profile of firms, particularly those at higher bizSAFE level, which tend to be from higher-risk sectors.
While bizSAFE is designed to build Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) capabilities by evaluating companies' risk management knowledge, we recognise that bizSAFE certification alone does not translate into better safety outcomes being internalised. The Ministry of Manpower and the WSH Council are therefore reviewing the bizSAFE programme to strengthen the link between bizSAFE certification and actual WSH performance, and place greater emphasis on the adoption of progressive WSH practices. This will ensure that bizSAFE certification better reflects safety standards, so that service buyers can more confidently engage bizSAFE-certified contractors.