Singapore Statutes Online - 354A - Workplace Safety and Health Act

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On 25/05/2013, you requested for the version in force on 25/05/2013 incorporating all amendments published on or before 25/05/2013. The closest version currently available is that of 31/07/2009.

PART II

INTERPRETATION

General interpretation

—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“accredited training provider” means a training provider accredited by the Commissioner to provide safety and health training courses for the purposes of section 31;

“air receiver” means —

(a)

any vessel (other than a pipe or coil or an accessory, a fitting or part of a compressor) for containing compressed air and connected with an air compressing plant;

(b)

any fixed vessel for containing compressed air and used for the purpose of starting an internal combustion engine;

(c)

any blast air bottle; or

(d)

any vessel in which any substance in the form of solid or liquid is stored and from which it is forced by compressed air;

“approved code of practice” means any code of practice issued or approved under section 40B, and includes any such code of practice as amended from time to time under that section;

“at work” means —

(a)

in relation to an employee, all times when the employee is performing work in connection with any trade, business, profession or undertaking carried on by his employer, wherever that work is carried out;

(b)

in relation to a self-employed person, all times when the person is performing work as a self-employed person, wherever the work is carried out; and

(c)

in any other case, all times when the person is performing work at the direction of the other person who engaged him, wherever the work is carried out;

“authorised examiner” means any person approved by the Commissioner under section 33 for the purpose of carrying out any prescribed examination or test of any —

(a)

hoist and lift;

(b)

lifting gear;

(c)

lifting appliance or lifting machine;

(d)

steam boiler;

(e)

steam receiver;

(f)

air receiver;

(g)

refrigerating plant pressure receiver;

(h)

pressure vessel; or

(i)

any other machinery required by this Act to be examined or tested by an authorised examiner;

“bodily injury” includes injury to health, the contraction of a disease, and the aggravation, acceleration or recurrence of any bodily injury or disease;

“building” includes —

(a)

the whole or any part of any house or any other structure, whether used for the purpose of human habitation or otherwise; and

(b)

any structure, support or foundation connected to the house or structure referred to in paragraph (a);

“building operation” means —

(a)

the construction, structural alteration, repair or maintenance of a building (including the re-wiring of any electrical installation, the replacement of any lift, air-conditioning plant and ancillary ducting of a building, and the re-pointing, redecoration and external cleaning of the structure);

(b)

the demolition of a building; or

(c)

the preparation of a site for, and the laying of foundation of, an intended building,

but does not include any operation which is a work of engineering construction;

“class or description”, in relation to workplaces, includes a group of workplaces described by reference to locality;

“Commissioner” means the Commissioner for Workplace Safety and Health appointed under section 7;

“contract of service” means any agreement, whether oral or in writing, express or implied, whereby any person agrees to employ any other person as an employee and that other person agrees to serve as his employee, and includes a contract of apprenticeship;

“contractor” means a person engaged by another person (referred to in this Act as the principal) otherwise than under a contract of service —

(a)

to supply any labour for gain or reward; or

(b)

to do any work for gain or reward,

in connection with any trade, business, profession or undertaking carried on by the principal;

“Council” means the Workplace Safety and Health Council established under section 39;

“dangerous occurrence” means any occurrence which is specified in the Second Schedule;

“Deputy Commissioner” means a Deputy Commissioner for Workplace Safety and Health appointed under section 7;

“electrical installation” means any cable, wire, fitting, accessory, apparatus or other device used for or for purposes incidental to the conveyance, control or use of electricity;

“employ” means to employ the service of any person to do any work under a contract of service, with or without remuneration;

“gas” includes any gas in its gaseous or liquid state;

“gas plant” —

(a)

means any plant, apparatus or machine for the manufacture or storage of any gas; and

(b)

includes pipes and appliances used in carrying any gas to the place where the gas is to be used;

“inspector” means an inspector appointed under section 7(3) and includes the Commissioner and any Deputy Commissioner;

“lift” includes any lifting appliance or lifting machine used for carrying persons, whether together with goods or otherwise;

“lifting appliance” includes a pulley block, gin wheel, chain block or set of chain blocks;

“lifting gear” includes —

(a)

any chain, rope, chain sling, webbing sling, rope sling, ring, hook, shackle, swivel or eyebolt; and

(b)

any cage or work platform used for carrying persons while it is suspended from the load line of a crane;

“lifting machine” includes —

(a)

any crane, crab, winch, teagle, runway, transporter, piling frame or piling machine; and

(b)

any work platform or suspended scaffold capable of being raised or lowered by climbers, winches or other powered device;

“machinery” includes —

(a)

any oil engine, gas engine, steam engine, and any other machine in which mechanical movement, either linear or rotated or both, takes place;

(b)

any steam boiler, gas cylinder, air receiver, steam receiver, steam container or refrigerating plant pressure receiver;

(c)

any appliance for transmission of power by ropes, belts, chains, driving straps or bands or gearing; and

(d)

any electrical generator or electrical motor,

but does not include any machinery used solely for the propulsion of vehicles;

“maintain” means maintain in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair;

“mechanical power” means any energy derived from steam, water, wind, electricity, compressed air or gas, or the combustion of fuel or explosive, which is used to drive or work any machinery;

“occupational disease” means any disease specified in the Third Schedule;

“occupier”, in relation to any premises or part of any premises, means —

(a)

in the case of a factory where a certificate of registration or a factory permit has to be obtained in relation to the premises pursuant to any regulations — the person who is, or is required to be, the holder of the certificate or permit; and

(b)

in the case of any other premises — the person who has charge, management or control of those premises either on his own account or as an agent of another person, whether or not he is also the owner of those premises;

“owner”, in relation to any premises, means —

(a)

the person for the time being receiving the rents or profits for the lease of the premises, whether on his own account or as agent or trustee for any other person; or

(b)

the person who would so receive the rents or profits if the premises were leased;

“premises” includes any place whether enclosed or built on or not, whether situated underground or underwater and, in particular, includes —

(a)

any building, vehicle, vessel or aircraft;

(b)

any structure, whether a fixed structure or a movable structure such as a tent; and

(c)

a part of any premises, including a part of premises of a kind referred to in paragraph (a) or (b);

“pressure vessel” —

(a)

means any container or vessel used for containing any substance under pressure; and

(b)

includes any steam boiler, steam receiver, steam container, air receiver, refrigerating plant pressure receiver and gas cylinder;

“prime mover” means every engine, motor or other appliance which provides mechanical energy derived from steam, water, wind, electricity, the combustion of fuel or other source of energy;

“principal” means a person who, in connection with any trade, business, profession or undertaking carried on by him, engages any other person otherwise than under a contract of service —

(a)

to supply any labour for gain or reward; or

(b)

to do any work for gain or reward;

“refrigerating plant pressure receiver” means any vessel which contains refrigerant under pressure;

“registered medical practitioner” means a person registered or deemed to be registered under the Medical Registration Act (Cap. 174);

“regulations” means regulations made under this Act;

“repealed Act” means the Factories Act (Cap. 104, 1998 Ed.) repealed by this Act;

“self-employed person” means a person who works for gain or reward otherwise than under a contract of service, whether or not employing others;

“ship” includes every description of vessel used in navigation, a floating rig, a barge or any platform used in any form of operations at sea;

“steam boiler” —

(a)

means any closed vessel in which, for any purpose, steam is generated under pressure greater than atmospheric pressure; and

(b)

includes any economiser used to heat water being fed to any such vessel and any superheater used for heating steam;

“steam container” means any vessel (other than a steam pipe or coil) —

(a)

constructed with a permanent outlet into the atmosphere or into a space where the pressure does not exceed atmospheric pressure; and

(b)

through which steam is passed at atmospheric pressure, or at approximately that pressure for the purpose of heating, boiling, drying, evaporating or a similar purpose;

“steam receiver” means any vessel or apparatus (other than a steam boiler, steam container, steam pipe or coil or a part of a prime mover) used for containing steam under pressure greater than atmospheric pressure;

“subcontractor” means a person engaged (otherwise than under a contract of service) by any contractor or subcontractor —

(a)

to supply any labour for gain or reward; or

(b)

to do any work for gain or reward,

which the contractor or subcontractor has been engaged as contractor or subcontractor, as the case may be, to do;

“work of engineering construction” means any work specified in the Fourth Schedule;

“workplace safety and health auditor” means a workplace safety and health auditor appointed under section 30;

“workplace safety and health committee” means a workplace safety and health committee appointed under section 29;

“workplace safety and health co-ordinator” means a workplace safety and health co-ordinator appointed under section 28;

“workplace safety and health officer” means a workplace safety and health officer appointed under section 28.

[9/2008]

(2) For the purposes of this Act —

(a)

mechanical power shall not be treated as being used in a workplace by reason only that mechanical power is used for the purpose of heating, ventilating, cooling, air-conditioning or lighting the workplace or any part thereof; and

(b)

any reference to the health of a person shall, where that person is pregnant, include a reference to the health of any unborn child which that person is carrying.

(3) For the avoidance of doubt, a person shall be regarded for the purposes of this Act as being at work in a workplace whether or not he is lawfully at work in that workplace.

Meanings of “workplace” and “factory”

—(1) In this Act, “workplace” means any premises where a person is at work or is to work, for the time being works, or customarily works, and includes a factory.

(2) Subject to this section, “factory” means any premises within which —

(a)

persons are employed in any process for or incidental to any of the following purposes:

(i)

the making of any article or part of any article;

(ii)

the altering, repairing, ornamenting, finishing, cleaning or washing, or the breaking up or demolition of any article; or

(iii)

the adapting for sale of any article; and

(b)

any work referred to in paragraph (a) is carried out by way of trade or for purposes of gain and to or over which the employer of the persons employed therein has the right of access or control.

(3) The following premises within which persons are employed are deemed to be factories:

(a)

any yard (including any dock, wharf, jetty, quay and the precincts thereof) where the construction, reconstruction, repair, refitting, finishing or breaking up of ships is carried out, including the waters adjacent to any such yard where the construction, reconstruction, repair, refitting, finishing or breaking up of ships is carried out by or on behalf of the occupier of that yard;

(b)

any premises where the sorting of articles is carried on as a preliminary to the work carried on in any other factory, or incidentally to the purposes of any other factory, whether that other factory is situated within or outside Singapore;

(c)

any premises where the washing or filling of bottles or containers or packing of articles is carried on incidentally to the purposes of any other factory, whether that other factory is situated within or outside Singapore;

(d)

any premises in which the business of hooking, plaiting, lapping, making up or packing of yarn or cloth is carried out;

(e)

any laundry ancillary to another business or incidental to the purposes of any public institution;

(f)

any premises where the construction, reconstruction or repair of locomotives, aircraft, vehicles or other plant for use for transport purposes is carried on as ancillary to a transport undertaking or other industrial or commercial undertaking, not being any premises used for the purpose of housing locomotives, aircraft or vehicles where only cleaning, washing, running repairs or minor adjustments are carried out;

(g)

any premises where the printing by letter press, offset, lithography, photogravure, rotogravure, or other similar process, or the binding of such printed materials is carried on by way of trade or for purposes of gain or incidentally to another business so carried on;

(h)

any premises where the making, adaptation or repair of dresses, scenery or props is carried on incidentally to the production of films, tapes or discs for public broadcast or screening or to the presentation of theatrical performances by way of trade or for purposes of gain, but not a stage or dressing-room of a theatre in which only occasional adaptations or repairs are made;

(i)

any premises where the business of making or mending nets is carried on incidentally to the fishing industry;

(j)

any premises where mechanical power is used in connection with the making or repair of any article incidentally to any business carried on by way of trade or for purposes of gain;

(k)

any premises where the production of cinematograph films is carried on by way of trade or for purposes of gain, but not a stage or a dressing-room of any actor in or connected with the production of any cinematograph film;

(l)

any premises where articles are made or prepared incidentally to the carrying on of any building operations or any work of engineering construction, not being premises in which such operations or work are being carried on;

(m)

any premises which are used for the storage of gas, including liquefied gas, in a container having a storage capacity of not less than 140 cubic metres;

(n)

any premises where work is carried out for or in connection with the generating of electrical energy for supply by way of trade or for purposes of gain;

(o)

any premises where mechanical power is used for the purposes of or in connection with a water supply;

(p)

any sewage works where mechanical power is used and any pumping station used in connection therewith;

(q)

any premises where building operations or any work of engineering construction are carried on;

(r)

any premises where mechanical power is used in connection with the sorting, packing, handling or storing of articles carried on by way of trade or for purposes of gain or incidentally to another business so carried on; and

(s)

any premises which are used for the bulk storage of toxic or flammable liquid (excluding liquefied gas) in a container, not being an underground container, that has a storage capacity of not less than 5,000 cubic metres.

(4) Where any person carries on any work referred to in subsection (2) or (3) in a workplace with the express or implied permission of, or under any agreement with, the occupier of the workplace, then, notwithstanding that the person is not an employee of the occupier of the workplace —

(a)

the workplace shall be treated as a factory for the purposes of this Act; and

(b)

the provisions of this Act relating to the duty of an occupier shall apply to the occupier of the workplace as if he were the occupier of a factory.

(5) Notwithstanding subsection (2), where any place situated within a factory is solely used for some purpose other than any of the processes carried on in the factory —

(a)

the place shall not be treated as forming part of the factory for the purposes of this Act; but

(b)

the place shall, if it would otherwise be a factory, be treated as a separate factory for the purposes of this Act.

(6) A part of a factory may, with the approval in writing of the Commissioner, be treated as a separate factory for the purposes of this Act.

(7) Two or more factories may, with the approval in writing of the Commissioner, be treated as a single factory for the purposes of this Act.

(8) For the avoidance of doubt, no premises shall be excluded from the definition of a “factory” by reason only that they are open air premises.

(9) Any premises in which work is carried on by or on behalf of the Government or any statutory board or body shall not be excluded from the definition of a “factory” by reason only that the work carried on at the premises is not carried on by way of trade or for purposes of gain.

Meanings of “employee” and “employer”

—(1) Subject to subsections (2), (3), (4) and (5), in this Act —

“employee” means any person employed by an employer to do any work under a contract of service;

“employer” means a person who, in the course of the person’s trade, business, profession or undertaking, employs any person to do any work under a contract of service.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, any reference to an employee shall include a reference to a volunteer who —

(a)

does work for another person with the knowledge or consent of that other person; and

(b)

does the work on an ongoing and regular basis for that other person,

being work that is in connection with any trade, business, profession or undertaking carried on by that other person, and this Act shall apply —

(i)

as if the volunteer were an employee of the other person;

(ii)

as if the other person were the volunteer’s employer; and

(iii)

as if the volunteer were at work when doing work for the other person.

(3) For the purposes of this Act, any reference to an employee shall include a reference to a person who is in a workplace for the purpose of receiving on the job training or gaining work experience, including under a rehabilitation scheme (referred to in this subsection as person A), and this Act shall apply —

(a)

as if the person A were an employee of the person (referred to in this subsection as person B) who agreed to provide on the job training or work experience;

(b)

as if person B were that person A’s employer; and

(c)

as if person A were at work when in the workplace for the purpose of receiving on the job training or gaining work experience.

(4) Where —

(a)

an employer places an employee (referred to in this subsection as the loaned employee) at the disposal of another person to do work for that other person; and

(b)

there is no contractual relationship between the employer and that other person regarding the work to be performed by the loaned employee,

then, for the purposes of this Act —

(i)

the loaned employee shall be regarded as if he were an employee of that other person (instead of his employer) while the loaned employee is at work for that other person;

(ii)

that other person shall be regarded as if he were the employer of the loaned employee while the loaned employee is at work for that other person; and

(iii)

the loaned employee shall be regarded as if he were at work when doing work for that other person.

(5) Where a person carries on any work in a factory —

(a)

the occupier of the factory shall be deemed to be the employer of the person; and

(b)

the provisions of this Act shall apply as if the occupier of the factory were the employer of the person,

unless the occupier of the factory proves that he is not the employer of the person.