SINGAPORE - More than 40 organisations and individuals, including migrant worker welfare groups, are asking the Government for a timeline to ban the use of lorries for ferrying workers and to make it compulsory for vehicles transporting people to have passenger seats and seat belts.

This renewed push for safer transport for these workers comes after 37 people – including migrant workers – were injured in two accidents involving lorries on July 18 and 19, according to a joint statement by these groups on Monday.

The statement – which was put up online and sent to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Acting Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat and Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor – was co-signed by groups and individuals such as the Covid-19 Migrant Support Coalition, the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, and former Nominated MPs Anthea Ong and Kok Heng Luen.

“While we appreciate efforts from the Government to improve the safety of workers during transportation, these recent tragic incidents have highlighted the continued grave risks posed by transporting migrant workers on lorries,” said the statement.

“Each life lost or major traumatic injury sustained represents a devastating blow to a family and community.”

The groups called on the Ministry of Transport to remove the exception in the Road Traffic Act that allows for workers to be transported in lorries, so that everyone is subject to the same passenger safety rules.

Under the Act, passengers cannot travel in the back of lorries unless those being ferried are employed by the vehicle owner or hirer. The other exception is in the case of medical emergencies.

Dr Stephanie Chok from migrant worker rights group Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) called the exception “discriminatory” and “unacceptable”.

“When the lorry brakes suddenly or when there is a collision, workers fall on one another, they may fly from their seats, they may even be flung out of the lorry,” said Dr Chok, a TWC2 exco member.

“When there is equipment on board, this is even more dangerous, as it may fall on workers and cause serious injuries.”

She added: “What we are asking for here is parity, not special treatment.”

New rules to improve the well-being of workers kicked in on Jan 1, which include making it compulsory for all lorries to have rain covers, and for workers who double as lorry drivers to have at least 30 minutes of rest before driving, if they have worked six or more hours on-site.

While such rules are “strong steps forward” and address real concerns on the ground, they do not address the root cause of accidents, said the statement.

The groups said the lack of proper restraints such as seat belts increases the risk of injuries during collisions or abrupt stops, and added that the original equipment manufacturers of lorries have stated that lorries are not designed to carry passengers.

“Our workers deserve to be transported safely, as their contributions are integral to Singapore’s growth and prosperity, and their lives and continued employment are essential to their families,” said the statement.

The push for safer transport for migrant workers has been a longstanding topic of discussion and has been raised by MPs for more than two decades.

In 2000, then Nominated MP Gerard Ee asked if the Government would consider a ban. In 2021, the matter was brought into the spotlight after two workers died and more than 30 were injured in four lorry accidents that year.

Earlier in July, Mr Louis Ng (Nee Soon GRC) renewed a call in Parliament for the ban, suggesting that the authorities plot a road map to achieve this and implement other safety measures in the interim – such as piloting the use of buses to transport workers for larger construction companies and implementing staggered working hours, which the Government can help to coordinate and provide some funding for.

In response, Dr Khor said the Government is equally concerned about improving the safety of worker transport, but added that a ban without considering ground-level concerns is not a realistic solution, as the practice of ferrying workers in lorries cuts across industries and companies of varying sizes.

Dr Khor added then that a wider shift to mandating the use of buses will likely exacerbate an existing shortage of bus drivers, and it will be challenging for smaller enterprises to employ full-time drivers.

Earlier in 2023, The Straits Times reported that private bus operators are struggling with a shortage of drivers, with many not being able to rehire workers they laid off during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. Several schools and travel agencies are affected by the shortfall.

In response to ST, Mr Ng said: “Fundamentally, I just don’t understand why we would ignore the safety advice that the (lorry) suppliers give us.

“We have a law that says you cannot put people in the back of lorries, but all of a sudden, for business reasons we say it’s okay. How does that make any sense?”

Mr Ng added he will be filing two questions on this issue during the parliamentary sitting next week, including finding out the specific sectors that the Land Transport Authority is engaging with in its study on transporting workers by buses or other vehicles.

He will also be filing a question on the rationale for the exception under the Road Traffic Act, which allows workers to be transported in lorries.

“I keep stressing, we sort of make it seem as if the driver is at fault. So the driver must rest, cannot work too long hours, and must go for tests. But actually the driver is driving a vehicle which is not safe (for ferrying workers) in the first place,” said Mr Ng.

“Yes, we should address driver fatigue, but we must remember that fundamentally, we have given the driver a vehicle that is not safe. The Government has to focus on that part, and not keep focusing on the driver.”

Businesses have been lukewarm towards the suggestion to ferry workers in buses instead of lorries. Construction companies ST spoke to in 2021 said the option was not realistic, and would increase the cost per worker by as much as 80 per cent.

While acknowledging the extra costs in switching from lorries to buses, Dr Chok said there is “no morally defensible reason to continue this practice”, and that there is a need to commit to a timeline and direct resources to make the switch in the future, if human lives are indeed valued.

“Right now, workers’ safety and lives are treated as an externality, but these factors must be costed into the business model of hiring and transporting workers because human lives matter,” said Dr Chok.