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22-06-2013, 11:40 PM
An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
Singaporeans Slam Leaders for Not Ordering Work Halt Amid
Smog (http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/06/22/singaporeans-slam-leaders-for-not-ordering-work-halt-amid-smog/)
http://images.dmca.com/Badges/dmca_protected_sml_120n.png?ID=f11d7371-0ef1-483b-888a-04e8d2ba2e94
http://www.tremeritus.org/wp-content/themes/WP_010/images/PostDateIcon.png?9d7bd4 June 22nd, 2013 | http://www.tremeritus.org/wp-content/themes/WP_010/images/PostAuthorIcon.png?9d7bd4 Author: Contributions (http://www.tremeritus.com/author/contributor/)
[WSJ Article first appeared on http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/201...alt-amid-smog/ (http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2013/06/22/singaporeans-slam-leaders-for-not-ordering-work-halt-amid-smog/)]
http://www.tremeritus.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/haze4-300x168.jpg?9d7bd4Smog conditions in Singapore have worsened to unprecedented
levels, but a legion of workers in the island state have visibly kept plugging
away outdoors, prompting public concern for their health and well-being.
The government has so far resisted calls to order a general halt to all
outdoor work activities even though smoke from forest fires in Indonesia has
pushed Singapore’s air quality into “very unhealthy” and “hazardous” levels for
long stretches this week. Officials said they may issue so-called “stop work”
orders if conditions worsen, but stressed that any measures would be gradual and
targeted, and would complement existing guidelines requiring employers to look
after their staff.
On Friday, as smog conditions intensified to a new record, some citizens took
to the Internet to criticize their leaders for perceived inaction. Many posted
photographs of construction sites across the island nation that purportedly show
many laborers still working outdoors—some without masks—despite the hazardous
air quality.
“Why are construction workers still on site? This is ridiculous,” Choo Zheng
Xi, a lawyer and social activist, wrote on his Facebook page. “I’m working from
home in air-conditioning, and I have ash in my nostrils … can we please stop
putting profits before people for once.”
Others noted that Singapore’s military has already reduced, and in some cases
halted, outdoor training and questioned why the Ministry of Manpower, or MOM,
wasn’t doing the same for the city’s hundreds of thousands of manual laborers,
many of whom are foreigners who work in jobs such as construction.
If the Singapore military found it necessary to take action, “why can’t or
shouldn’t MOM stop all outdoor heavy work?” Andrew Loh, a blogger and social
activist, wrote on his Facebook page. “A clear sign that the importance of your
health depends on which nationality you are?”
The Manpower Ministry regulates labor issues and workplace conditions, and a
ministry-appointed commissioner for workplace safety has powers to order work
halts over health and safety concerns. A ministry spokesman declined to comment
on possible government orders to halt outdoor work, saying that the matter was
under consideration by a government panel set up to tackle haze-related
issues.
As of 8 a.m. local time Saturday, Singapore’s three-hour Pollutant Standards
Index—a measure of air quality—was at 292, easing off an all-time high of 401
reached Friday. According to the National Environment Agency, readings between
101 to 200 indicate “unhealthy,” 201 to 300 “very unhealthy,” and above 300
“hazardous.”
Officials say they would pay closer attention to the 24-hour PSI levels—which
averages readings taken over a 24-hour period—rather than the three-hour
readings, as the former gives a better picture of the potential health risks. As
of 8 a.m. Saturday, Singapore’s 24-hour PSI was between 179 and 246.
Singapore’s air quality had never reached “hazardous” levels before this
week. Analysts have warned that an extended haze episode could hurt the
city-state’s economy, due to potential declines in tourism and retail revenues
and losses stemming from work stoppages.
Some employers have already taken initiatives to protect staff. The Singapore
Flyer, the landmark giant observation wheel, on Thursday asked its employees to
stop work until air quality improves to “a safe level.” Fast-food restaurants
such as KFC, McDonalds, PastaMania and Pizza Hut have suspended their Singapore
delivery services until further notice in an effort to to ensure the safety of
their drivers.
Under Singapore law, the government can order any employer to halt work
activities “until measures have been taken to ensure that the work can be
carried out safely.” But officials have demurred on blanket nationwide steps to
halt outdoor work, saying any measures would be gradual and targeted.
“We have to have a practical, flexible, and in a sense a tailored, customized
approach to deal with the different demands and the different vulnerabilities
that people will have,” Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Thursday
on a news program aired by state-owned broadcaster MediaCorp.
Under the manpower ministry’s existing guidelines (http://www.mom.gov.sg/Documents/safety-health/factsheets-circulars/Workplace%20Guidelines%20During%20a%20Haze.pdf), all “employers
have a duty to protect their employees’ safety and health at work” during haze
conditions, such as by providing masks and conducting regular risk assessments
to determine if work can be done safely.
The guidelines require employers to halt work if conditions have worsened to
the extent that risks can’t be mitigated even with precautionary measures. Those
who fail to conduct risk assessments and act upon them can be punished with
fines of up to 10,000 Singapore dollars ($7,800). Repeat offenders can be jailed
for up to six months or fined up to S$20,000, or both.
“Our areas of concerns remain focused on those working outdoors, especially
if under strenuous conditions and/or being outdoors on a prolonged basis,”
Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin wrote Thursday on his Facebook page.
“We also need to ascertain essential services and how best to provide these
in a manner that is safe for our workers,” he said.
But such reassurances have failed to win over some Singaporeans, who said
that economic considerations were being overly prioritized.
“The next time somebody insists that Singapore does not pursue growth at all
costs, just tell them this: workers made to toil in PSI 400 conditions,” Sudhir
Vadaketh, a Singaporean writer, said on his Facebook page. “If this is not
growth at all costs, I’m not sure what is.”
Others Singaporeans, growing impatient with employers who have kept their
workers outdoors, have taken matters into their own hands.
The Online Citizen, a popular sociopolitical news website, has called on its
readers to write in with names of companies whose workers were seen laboring
outdoors in hazy conditions. “Hopefully, direct naming and shaming will have an
impact,” it said on its Facebook page.
.
Chun Han Wong
* Re-published with consent from The Wall Street Journal.
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?155282-Singaporeans-Slam-Leaders-for-Not-Ordering-Work-Halt-Amid-SMOG&goto=newpost).
Singaporeans Slam Leaders for Not Ordering Work Halt Amid
Smog (http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/06/22/singaporeans-slam-leaders-for-not-ordering-work-halt-amid-smog/)
http://images.dmca.com/Badges/dmca_protected_sml_120n.png?ID=f11d7371-0ef1-483b-888a-04e8d2ba2e94
http://www.tremeritus.org/wp-content/themes/WP_010/images/PostDateIcon.png?9d7bd4 June 22nd, 2013 | http://www.tremeritus.org/wp-content/themes/WP_010/images/PostAuthorIcon.png?9d7bd4 Author: Contributions (http://www.tremeritus.com/author/contributor/)
[WSJ Article first appeared on http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/201...alt-amid-smog/ (http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2013/06/22/singaporeans-slam-leaders-for-not-ordering-work-halt-amid-smog/)]
http://www.tremeritus.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/haze4-300x168.jpg?9d7bd4Smog conditions in Singapore have worsened to unprecedented
levels, but a legion of workers in the island state have visibly kept plugging
away outdoors, prompting public concern for their health and well-being.
The government has so far resisted calls to order a general halt to all
outdoor work activities even though smoke from forest fires in Indonesia has
pushed Singapore’s air quality into “very unhealthy” and “hazardous” levels for
long stretches this week. Officials said they may issue so-called “stop work”
orders if conditions worsen, but stressed that any measures would be gradual and
targeted, and would complement existing guidelines requiring employers to look
after their staff.
On Friday, as smog conditions intensified to a new record, some citizens took
to the Internet to criticize their leaders for perceived inaction. Many posted
photographs of construction sites across the island nation that purportedly show
many laborers still working outdoors—some without masks—despite the hazardous
air quality.
“Why are construction workers still on site? This is ridiculous,” Choo Zheng
Xi, a lawyer and social activist, wrote on his Facebook page. “I’m working from
home in air-conditioning, and I have ash in my nostrils … can we please stop
putting profits before people for once.”
Others noted that Singapore’s military has already reduced, and in some cases
halted, outdoor training and questioned why the Ministry of Manpower, or MOM,
wasn’t doing the same for the city’s hundreds of thousands of manual laborers,
many of whom are foreigners who work in jobs such as construction.
If the Singapore military found it necessary to take action, “why can’t or
shouldn’t MOM stop all outdoor heavy work?” Andrew Loh, a blogger and social
activist, wrote on his Facebook page. “A clear sign that the importance of your
health depends on which nationality you are?”
The Manpower Ministry regulates labor issues and workplace conditions, and a
ministry-appointed commissioner for workplace safety has powers to order work
halts over health and safety concerns. A ministry spokesman declined to comment
on possible government orders to halt outdoor work, saying that the matter was
under consideration by a government panel set up to tackle haze-related
issues.
As of 8 a.m. local time Saturday, Singapore’s three-hour Pollutant Standards
Index—a measure of air quality—was at 292, easing off an all-time high of 401
reached Friday. According to the National Environment Agency, readings between
101 to 200 indicate “unhealthy,” 201 to 300 “very unhealthy,” and above 300
“hazardous.”
Officials say they would pay closer attention to the 24-hour PSI levels—which
averages readings taken over a 24-hour period—rather than the three-hour
readings, as the former gives a better picture of the potential health risks. As
of 8 a.m. Saturday, Singapore’s 24-hour PSI was between 179 and 246.
Singapore’s air quality had never reached “hazardous” levels before this
week. Analysts have warned that an extended haze episode could hurt the
city-state’s economy, due to potential declines in tourism and retail revenues
and losses stemming from work stoppages.
Some employers have already taken initiatives to protect staff. The Singapore
Flyer, the landmark giant observation wheel, on Thursday asked its employees to
stop work until air quality improves to “a safe level.” Fast-food restaurants
such as KFC, McDonalds, PastaMania and Pizza Hut have suspended their Singapore
delivery services until further notice in an effort to to ensure the safety of
their drivers.
Under Singapore law, the government can order any employer to halt work
activities “until measures have been taken to ensure that the work can be
carried out safely.” But officials have demurred on blanket nationwide steps to
halt outdoor work, saying any measures would be gradual and targeted.
“We have to have a practical, flexible, and in a sense a tailored, customized
approach to deal with the different demands and the different vulnerabilities
that people will have,” Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Thursday
on a news program aired by state-owned broadcaster MediaCorp.
Under the manpower ministry’s existing guidelines (http://www.mom.gov.sg/Documents/safety-health/factsheets-circulars/Workplace%20Guidelines%20During%20a%20Haze.pdf), all “employers
have a duty to protect their employees’ safety and health at work” during haze
conditions, such as by providing masks and conducting regular risk assessments
to determine if work can be done safely.
The guidelines require employers to halt work if conditions have worsened to
the extent that risks can’t be mitigated even with precautionary measures. Those
who fail to conduct risk assessments and act upon them can be punished with
fines of up to 10,000 Singapore dollars ($7,800). Repeat offenders can be jailed
for up to six months or fined up to S$20,000, or both.
“Our areas of concerns remain focused on those working outdoors, especially
if under strenuous conditions and/or being outdoors on a prolonged basis,”
Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin wrote Thursday on his Facebook page.
“We also need to ascertain essential services and how best to provide these
in a manner that is safe for our workers,” he said.
But such reassurances have failed to win over some Singaporeans, who said
that economic considerations were being overly prioritized.
“The next time somebody insists that Singapore does not pursue growth at all
costs, just tell them this: workers made to toil in PSI 400 conditions,” Sudhir
Vadaketh, a Singaporean writer, said on his Facebook page. “If this is not
growth at all costs, I’m not sure what is.”
Others Singaporeans, growing impatient with employers who have kept their
workers outdoors, have taken matters into their own hands.
The Online Citizen, a popular sociopolitical news website, has called on its
readers to write in with names of companies whose workers were seen laboring
outdoors in hazy conditions. “Hopefully, direct naming and shaming will have an
impact,” it said on its Facebook page.
.
Chun Han Wong
* Re-published with consent from The Wall Street Journal.
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?155282-Singaporeans-Slam-Leaders-for-Not-Ordering-Work-Halt-Amid-SMOG&goto=newpost).