Statistics on Workplace Injuries and Fatalities and Their Reporting Criteria

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how our rates per 100,000 employed persons in Singapore for (i) minor workplace injury, (ii) major workplace injury and (iii) death, compare with other countries which also base their reporting criteria on that of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA); and (b) what would be the possible factors for the difference if there is a significant discrepancy for those rates.

Both Singapore and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) require reporting of injuries that result in more than three days of medical leave. In addition, Singapore also requires reporting of injuries that result in at least 24 hours of hospitalisation.

Singapore attained a workplace fatal injury rate of 1.2 per 100,000 employed persons in 2017. This was lower than the average fatal injury rate of 1.7 per 100,000 employed persons among the European Union (EU) countries that use EU-OSHA's reporting criteria.

EU-OSHA does not publish minor or major injury data but does so for non-fatal injuries as a whole. Singapore had a non-fatal injury rate of 368 per 100,000 employed persons in 2017, compared to the EU-OSHA average of 1,586 per 100,000 employed persons.

We should, however, be cautious in comparing our non-fatal injury rate with that of the EU. While Singapore and EU-OSHA apply the same threshold of medical leave duration for reporting purposes, differences in data collection systems may account for some variations. EU countries with higher non-fatal injury rates generally draw injury data from insurance claims, while those with lower rates generally rely on injury reporting by employers.