Tripartite Oversight Committee Announces Three Pronged Approach To Enhance Workplace Health

Singapore, 24 June 2015 – More businesses and their employees are set to benefit from holistic and customised workplace health and wellness programmes under a new three- pronged framework announced today by the Tripartite Oversight Committee (TOC) on Workplace Health.
The strategic thrusts under the framework are:

1. Innovative partnerships with developers and businesses to engineer greater efficiencies in the delivery of workplace health and safety programmes

2. Targeted and customised interventions to reach mature workers who currently have limited access to health programmes

3. Holistic workplace health and safety through the Total Workplace Safety and Health (TWSH) approach

“With more than 60 percent of Singapore’s population in the workforce, the workplace is a natural and important setting to reach out to Singaporeans to adopt healthy living at their workplace and beyond. As our population ages and as more Singaporeans remain in the workforce longer, it is even more important to promote health, wellbeing and safety at the workplace. Healthy workers make for happier and more productive workers. The Tripartite Oversight Committee on Workplace Health aims to involve developers, businesses, unions and the community right from the start in developing innovative, holistic, and needs-based programmes as opposed to a one-size-fits-all model to effectively reach out to more sectors of the workforce and make healthy living more pervasive and effortless at the workplace,” said Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Health and Manpower, and Chairman of the TOC.

The TOC was established in April 2014 to drive and implement workplace health and safety initiatives at the national level. The ultimate objective is to promote wellbeing through work by adopting a more holistic approach to focus on workers’ health and wellness, and to increase the reach and penetration of workplace health promotion. The committee consists of senior representatives from the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Health Promotion Board (HPB), Workplace Safety and Health Council (WSHC), partners and relevant stakeholders (Annex 1). Three sub-committees were formed to look into each prong under the new framework.

Partnering Developers and Businesses to Reach More Workers

The TOC aims to reach 120,000 workers by the end of March 2016 by working together with developers and businesses to deliver accessible, customised and targeted programmes to meet workers’ occupational and general health needs. Through the ecosystem approach, demand can be aggregated so that workers at co-located work sites and those employed by small and medium enterprises may also enjoy on-site health and safety services and programmes, healthier dining options, and participate in roadshows on healthy living.

This concept of health promoting workplaces was first unveiled in October 2013 at the launch of the first Healthy Workplace Ecosystem at Mapletree Business City (MBC). This was followed by the announcement in November last year of Ascendas’ seven business clusters adopting the approach.

The responses to the health programmes at both the MBC and Ascendas clusters have been very positive. To date, 1 in 3 MBC employees are actively participating in the programmes. Healthier meals served at MBC have also increased from 20% to 30% over the last year. In Ascendas, three months after adopting the Healthy Workplace Ecosystem model, six food courts across four clusters began serving healthier food options. Health activities have also been introduced.

Officially launched today, one-north, master-planned and developed by JTC Corporation, is the latest and largest business park to create a Healthy Workplace Ecosystem. The health promoting elements have reached about 3,700 employees since the initial roll out across the business park from November 2014.

Healthier dining options have been made pervasive, with every stall in one-north’s two food courts offering at least one 500kcal meal. About 21 per cent of the meals sold at one-north are healthier meals. Organised physical activities such as weekly mass runs and aerobics sessions are also offered to one-north employees, encouraging an active lifestyle. Physical activity tracked through HPB’s Healthy Living@SG app also entitles employees to accumulate points and redeem prizes. As part of this push to exercise more, one-north employees have been encouraged to make walking a part of their everyday activity and achieve a target of 50 million steps from April to August this year, in celebration of SG50. So far, one-north employees have clocked about 30 million steps.

One of the companies benefitting from the programmes at one-north is Shell Singapore. Dr Mark Ng, Manager, Shell Singapore, said, “Shell is pleased that our employees are able to benefit from the health promoting environment in one-north. The various healthy living choices open to our employees make it easy for them to take active steps towards a balanced and healthy lifestyle even while at work. This complements Shell’s commitment in promoting workplace health. Through our conducive workplace and work arrangement, we allow our staff to actively participate in these activities. This enhances our employees’ wellbeing, ultimately contributing to an energised organisation and a vibrant Singapore workforce.”

In the next phase of partnering developers and businesses, the TOC will look at introducing more occupational safety and health elements, such as good ergonomic practices. The Committee also plans to roll out customised health and safety programmes to workers in industrial estates to make it easier for them to participate in such activities.

Increasing Access to Workplace Health for Mature Workers

Singapore’s ageing population makes it imperative to look into the needs of the greying workforce. The TOC intends to reach 11,000 mature workers by end of March 2016, with industry-specific solutions and pilot interventions. These will be based on the health risks and needs, work nature and lifestyles of the mature workers in different sectors.

Pilot programmes in the transport sector will be scaled up. The one-year pilot programme to promote healthy living to about 3,000 taxi drivers at SMRT Taxis’ Customer Service Centre and Comfort DelGro’s Taxi Service Centre will be extended to additional service centres.

To help companies improve their management of the health of mature workers, the TOC will develop industry-specific health guides and tools to measure the impact of solutions. Companies with best practices will be invited to share their experiences at workplace health seminars to encourage more companies to provide mature workers with the necessary support, skills and knowledge to manage their health.

Implementing Total Workplace Safety and Health for Workers

The TOC will support the implementation of Total Workplace Safety and Health (WSH)1 to build a safer, healthier and more productive workforce. This will be done through a holistic and integrated approach to manage workplace safety, occupational health and health promotion practices.

NatSteel is piloting the implementation of the Total WSH approach to educate employees on the importance of safe working practices and healthy lifestyles. The company has put in place structures and processes including the strengthening of existing WSH management system and forming a multi-disciplinary team to assess holistic health and safety practices. Enhanced safety programmes and measures to address health gaps among employees will be implemented. About 300 employees, to date, have attended programmes on weight management and smoking cessation. In addition, 80 line managers have been trained to develop and implement a mental health initiative.

“The focus on Total Workplace Safety and Health is aligned with NatSteel’s commitment to build an inclusive and engaged workforce. We are encouraged by our employees’ strong response to the pilot programmes and we will continue to leverage the Total WSH framework to enhance the wellbeing and performance of our employees,” said Mr Ashish Anupam, President and Chief Executive Officer, NatSteel.

To further integrate workplace safety and health, the TOC will be developing a course to equip key personnel such as workplace safety and health officers and human resource practitioners with knowledge and skills to implement Total WSH at their workplaces.
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About Health Promotion Board

The Health Promotion Board was established as a statutory board under the Ministry of Health, Singapore, in 2001 with the vision of building “A Nation of Healthy People”. The Health Promotion Board aims to empower the people of Singapore to attain optimal health, increase the quality and years of healthy life and prevent illness, disability and premature death. As the key agency overseeing national health promotion and disease prevention programmes, HPB spearheads health education, promotion and prevention programmes as well as creates a health-supportive environment in Singapore. It develops and organises relevant health promotion and disease prevention programmes, reaching out to the healthy, the at-risk and the unhealthy at all stages of life – children, youths, adults and older Singapore residents. Its health promotion programmes include nutrition, mental health, physical activity, smoking control and communicable disease education. HPB also promotes healthy ageing, integrated health screening, and chronic disease education and management.

More information can be found at

www.hpb.gov.sg

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Media Release

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