MOM report flags surge in platform worker injuries; NTUC calls for urgent action

For the first time, Singapore’s national workplace safety report includes injury data on platform workers—and the figures are stark.

Delivery workers suffered fatal and major injuries at a rate of 84.6 per 100,000, about 4.5 times the national average. They make up just 18 per cent of the platform worker population but account for 84 per cent of all platform worker fatal and major injuries.

It was against this backdrop that NTUC sounded the alarm at the U Safe Awards and Conference 2026 on 25 March 2026, calling for urgent and targeted action to protect delivery workers as Singapore’s workforce evolves beyond traditional industries.

Platform workers: A new safety frontier

The figure came from a new data series published for the first time in Singapore’s national Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) report.

Under the Platform Workers Act, platform operators have been required to report work-related injuries since 1 January 2025.

Manpower Minister of State Dinesh Vasu Dash, who delivered remarks at the event, said delivery workers on two-wheelers “make up a significant portion of workplace injuries,” adding that their job “exposes them to hazards on public roads and pathways all day long, putting them at constant risk.”

In response to the platform-worker WSH figures, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced the formation of the Platform Worker Safety Workgroup (PWSW), comprising Government agencies including the Land Transport Authority, Traffic Police and the Ministry of Transport, alongside eight platform operators — Amazon Flex, CDG, foodpanda, Gojek, Grab, Lalamove, Ryde and TADA — as well as NTUC and its three platform work associations: the National Delivery Champions Association (NDCA), the National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA), and the National Taxi Association (NTA).

The workgroup is advised by Mr Dinesh and is tasked with developing targeted safety measures by the end of 2026.

NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Yeo Wan Ling, who advises all three Platform Work Associations, said the injury statistics were “concerning, because behind every number is a real worker.”

She called on platform companies to review their incentive schemes, saying the welfare of workers “cannot be the price of faster deliveries, longer hours, or unsafe conditions.”

Both Grab and foodpanda welcomed the workgroup’s formation and pointed to existing safety measures.

Grab said its driver and delivery partners performed more than three times better than the Land Transport Authority’s Quality of Service standard for point-to-point transport and announced upcoming pilots of blind-spot detection sensors for two-wheelers, as well as geo-targeted heat and haze alerts planned for the second half of 2026.

foodpanda said its safety programme had contributed to a 30 per cent reduction in delivery partner accidents across its Asia-Pacific fleet between 2023 and 2025.

NTUC President K Thanaletchimi said addressing road safety requires a collective effort, calling on platform operators to ensure their systems support safe driving with “fair and transparent fare structures.”’

Lowest total workplace fatalities since 2006

The conference organised by NTUC and NTUC LearningHub also marked a significant milestone: Singapore recorded a workplace fatal injury rate of 0.96 per 100,000 workers in 2025 — the lowest since the WSH Act came into force in 2006, and the first time the national target of below 1.0 has been met in a decade.

The major injury rate fell to a decade low of 15.7 per 100,000 workers (excluding platform workers), placing Singapore among the world’s safest workplaces alongside countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

But even as NTUC marked 20 years of the WSH Act, Ms Thanaletchimi added that the progress cannot mask new and growing dangers.

“Every workplace death is a tragedy. And almost all are preventable,” she said.

Emerging risks demand a forward-looking approach

The report also highlighted a broader set of risks that NTUC said would require a more preventive, anticipatory approach to workplace safety.

These include climate-related hazards such as extreme heat for outdoor workers; new fire and toxic-exposure risks arising from the adoption of electric vehicles and low-carbon fuels; and the psychosocial toll of AI-driven work intensification.

Ms Thanaletchimi warned that while AI is often seen through a productivity lens, it can also increase the pace, expectations and pressure on workers, leading to fatigue and stress.

“AI should augment human capability, not erode human wellbeing,” she said.

She also flagged rising road dangers as a concern for the wider workforce, noting that traffic accidents increased by 7.2 per cent from 2024 to 2025, with fatalities rising from 139 to 147.

To address these emerging risks, NTUC launched a new campaign, “Emerging Risks, Safer Workplaces,” which will mobilise union leaders to develop workplace- and sector-specific WSH action plans covering climate risks, new energy hazards, age-friendly work design and stronger protections for vulnerable workers.

NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Melvin Yong, who sits on the WSH Council, called on employers to go beyond compliance.

He said proven safety technologies — including anti-collision systems, video analytics and fatigue detection — “should no longer be optional” and argued that in high-risk sectors, mandating such tools is now necessary.

MOM also announced it will launch the Alliance for Action on Safety and Health for Employment Longevity, in partnership with NTUC and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), in the second half of 2026.

The alliance will support employers and other stakeholders in developing and scaling practical solutions to tackle persistent workplace risks, with a particular focus on Singapore’s ageing workforce.

Slips, trips and falls have been the leading cause of both major and minor workplace injuries for the past decade, while work-related musculoskeletal disorders account for 41 per cent of all occupational diseases.

Recognising workplace safety champions

Twelve unions, companies and individual union leaders received NTUC U Safe Awards at the ceremony, held at the Stephen Riady Auditorium at NTUC Centre.

Among the U Safe Champion Award recipients for companies was SMRT Buses, whose Managing Director Tan Peng Kuan said the company had installed AI-enabled telematics across its entire bus fleet to identify risks early and detect unsafe patterns before incidents occur.

Asahi Kasei Synthetic Rubber Singapore, another recipient, was recognised for developing crawler-based inspection technology and automated cleaning systems in collaboration with the Chemical Industries Employees’ Union, eliminating the need for workers to perform dangerous scaffolding and manual cleaning tasks in high-temperature environments.

The U Safe Advocate Award for unions went to the Housing and Development Board Staff Union, the Built Environment and Urban Trades Employees’ Union, the National Transport Workers’ Union, and the Healthcare Services Employees’ Union.

Four individual union leaders received the U Safe Star Award for their on-the-ground work driving safety improvements in their respective sectors.