By Teh Joo Lin

ENSURING better workplace safety might actually add some shine to a company's bottom line.

Companies which advance far enough in bizSAFE, a workplace safety programme, will get discounts on the insurance premiums they pay for the work-injury compensation plans protecting their workers.

This is the carrot being dangled before small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which may be tempted to cut down on safety and health measures during the downturn to save costs.

That would be 'myopic', said Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong yesterday, adding that it was even more critical for companies to focus on raising safety and health standards at this time to minimise downtime and raise their workers' productivity.

He was speaking at a convention at the Suntec convention centre to get more SMEs on board bizSAFE, introduced in April 2007 by the Workplace Safety and Health Council.

Fatalities and injuries at the workplace have been a concern.

The number of deaths for every 100,000 workers fell from 4.9 in 2004 to 2.8 last year, but Singapore is still some way from its 2018 goal of under 1.8 deaths for every 100,000 workers.

So far, about 2,000 SMEs have joined the bizSAFE programme and are advancing through its five tiers by, for example, sending their workers for workshops on workplace safety and health or by implementing safety management plans.

About half of them have made it at least to the third tier, which makes them eligible for discounted premiums for work-injury compensation insurance plans from global insurer AIG.

Making improved safety translate into 'significant and immediate' cost savings for these companies will result in 'a win-win solution' for the companies and the insurer, said Mr Gan.

Mr Adam Clifford, an assistant vice-president at AIG, said the size of the discount on the premium would depend on factors like the industry the firm is in and how long it has been a bizSAFE participant.

The 140,000 SMEs here employ over half of the workforce.

Mr Gan said that while firms need to put in sound safety systems, these would work only if trained people are on hand to run them.

For this reason, jobs in the field of workplace safety and health will 'continue to be created and valued' during the downturn, and efforts will be made this year to attract more professionals, managers, executives and technicians into the field.

So far, over 4,000 people have received training in workplace safety and health. This pool is projected to grow to 19,000 by 2018.

Urging school leavers, professionals, managers, executives and technicians to consider it as a career, Mr Gan said: 'The workplace safety and health profession offers not only a meaningful job, but also a promising career.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.