MOM urges safety time-out for construction & transport sectors

MOM said in its post that it will also implement enhanced enforcement measures in both industries from Oct 5 to Nov 4 to strengthen deterrence and accountability.

It will increase fines for first-time offences from $2,000 to $3,000, with higher fines for repeat or more serious offences.

It will also increase the minimum duration of stop-work orders from five weeks to eight weeks, and debar companies from hiring new migrant workers for three months in egregious cases.

Other cases of workplace deaths in September include one on Sept 22 where two workers, aged 33 and 44, died after falling into the sea while moving cargo at Tuas Port. The duo were being lifted on a work platform when the platform was dislodged from a crane and fell into the sea.

On Sept 11, a 35-year-old worker died after he was struck by a hose connected to a compressed air pump at a construction site in Jurong Port Road.

MOM said the recent workplace fatalities in the construction and transportation and storage industries are a grave reminder that workplace safety and health cannot be taken for granted.

Dinesh said: “We must act decisively to prevent further loss of lives.”

He added: “I also call on our industry partners and stakeholders, including the labour movement, to reinforce these efforts within their networks. Continued vigilance and collective effort will help us strengthen safety practices and build safer workplaces.”

There were 21 workplace deaths in the first half of 2026, partly due to an increase in the number of platform workers who lost their lives on the road, compared with 18 deaths in the same period in 2025.

Vehicular incidents claimed nine lives and were the leading cause of the 21 recorded deaths. 

Other top causes included drowning or suffocation, which caused five deaths. These included the deaths of three crew members in a collision between a supply boat and a landing craft off Pasir Panjang Terminal in June.

The transport and storage industry had the highest number of deaths, with five lives lost.