A total of 13 lives were lost due to workplace incidents between January and April 2026, with another 60 persons sustaining injuries – a phenomenon that is quite troubling according to Labour and Manpower Planning Minister Keoma Griffith.
“While we’ve made significant strides, the statistics for the period of January to April 2026 are deeply troubling. For this period, there have been 13 workplace fatalities and 64 non-fatal incidents. This increase is unacceptable and underscores the urgent need for stricter compliance and health and safety protocols,” he said.
“We must therefore confront this conundrum head-on, and it demands from us a decisive paradigm shift, one that moves us beyond reactive compliance to a culture of proactive prevention, accountability, and zero tolerance for unsafe practices,” the minister stated.
He was at the time addressing the Occupational Safety and Health Symposium at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, on Tuesday.
On this note, he said the government will continue to strengthen enforcement and compliance in health and safety.
“We will expand the capacity to reach our inspectorate, and we will take the necessary steps to ensure that our legal and policy framework remains responsive, modern, and fully equipped to address evolving workplace risks and fatalities. Occupational safety and health standards must not be optional. They must be rigorously enforced across every sector in our economy.”
Meanwhile, the minister noted that between 2020 and 2025, the ministry conducted 6,186 occupational health and safety inspections across high-risk and low-risk sectors.
He added that during that period, more than 27,000 workers benefited from OSH inspections nationwide, thus strengthening prevention and workplace resilience. These efforts, he noted, led to measurable improvements, including a 12.78 percent decline in work-related fatalities and a near 50 percent reduction in non-fatal incidents.
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