It was just after 6pm yesterday and the loud screeching sound instantly caught his attention.

Peering out of his office window, the executive, who wanted to be known only as Mr Tan, said he saw dozens of workers running away from a construction site at Mattar Road, off Aljunied Road, about 400m away.

To his horror, he noticed that a crane at the construction site had precariously tilted to its right. Mr Tan, who is in his 40s, told The New Paper: “The crane’s boom was resting on a two-storey-high pillar at the site.

“If the crane had toppled over, its boom would have probably cut a nearby apartment building in half.”

The crane had been hoisting a metal container when the incident happened.

Luckily, no injuries were reported.

Mr Samuel Liow, a resident of a nearby walk-up apartment, said he was informed of the incident at about 7pm as he was on his way home.

His six-unit apartment building is located next to the construction site, where a church is being rebuilt.

Work at the site began in January this year, residents said.

Mr Liow, 37, who is self-employed, told TNP: “I was surprised to see the crane leaning on its side. My immediate concern was my family’s safety. Luckily, my unit is not in the crane’s path.”

At about 9pm, police ordered all the residents in his block to evacuate.

BUS STOP

Together with a few other families, Mr Liow and his family took shelter at a nearby bus stop.

Mr Liow, who has three pre-school children, said he hoped that work to put the crane upright would not take too long.

Just after 9pm yesterday, two additional cranes were used to stabilise the affected crane from tilting further, witnesses told TNP.

The roads leading to the construction site were closed to traffic. Nevertheless, there were many passers-by who turned up to watch.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) confirmed that an incident had taken place at SCT Construction’s worksite at Mattar Road.

MOM’s Occupational Safety and Health Division has commenced investigations.

An MOM spokesman told TNP: “Preliminary findings indicate that a crawler crane had toppled on its side during lifting work. No one was injured in the incident.”

All work at the site was ordered to stop yesterday.

When TNP checked with Mr Liow at 11.45pm, he said he had been told that the operation would take “another few hours”.

“We have been booked into a hotel,” he added.

zaihan@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 6, 2016.
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More help is at hand for the ailing shipping industry, with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) granting bulk carriers a 10 per cent concession on port dues.

The concession, to come into effect on April 15, will be implemented “in view of the current downturn in the shipping industry”, the MPA said in a statement yesterday.

It will be available for one year and applicable only to vessels carrying out cargo works with a port stay of not more than five days.

Bulk carriers account for a sizeable proportion of Singapore’s total vessel arrival tonnage, at about 30 per cent, with 16,560 bulk carriers making port calls here last year.

The MPA’s latest move follows its earlier announcement in January of an additional 10 per cent concession on port dues for container vessels that complete their loading or unloading here within five days.

It came in addition to existing assistance, such as the Green Port Programme incentives and the 20 per cent concession introduced in 1996.

Last November, the port authority also extended concessions for offshore support vessels for one year.

In all, the concessions are expected to yield $18 million in savings for shipping companies over one year, noted the MPA.

It said: “The rollout of these measures demonstrates Singapore’s commitment to helping the maritime sector through this challenging time, and its importance in contributing to our economy and creating good jobs for Singaporeans.

“MPA will continue to work closely with our industry partners and stakeholders to support the long-term development of Maritime Singapore.”

The dry bulk shipping sector has been hit hard amid sluggish global demand and vessel oversupply, with the Baltic Dry Index, a global benchmark for shipping rates, hitting historic lows in February. It has picked up slightly since.

tsjwoo@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 6, 2016.
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Cleaners working at a statutory board got the short end of the stick when their former company lost the contract this year.

It had, in its tender, factored in a one month bonus for them, on top of their current salaries.

The cleaners ended up working for a new company.

They had their salaries reduced to $1,000, and lost all their employment benefits.

Labour MP Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) cited this case in Parliament yesterday to illustrate the need for “a longer-term solution” to help low-wage workers.

“Unless we take bolder steps to negotiate the glaring disparities between our low-wage workers and the majority of the Singaporean workforce in matters like wages and employment benefits, low- wage workers will continue to feel marginalised and the income gap will continue to widen,” he said.

Over the past five years, real wages rose by an average of 2.1 per cent per year at the 20th income percentile, compared with around 3 per cent at the 50th percentile, he said.

Mr Zainal suggested that the Government set a target for faster wage growth at the 20th percentile level.

Longer-term service contracts could also encourage companies to adopt technology to become more productive, and prevent workers from having their salaries and benefits reset every few years, he added.

Companies should also avoid extending contracts at the same terms and conditions, as these usually prevent low-wage workers’ salaries from rising, said Mr Zainal.

An assistant secretary-general at the National Trades Union Congress, he heads the unit overseeing low-wage workers.

Mr Zainal also called for making the payment of annual wage supplements and annual increments to workers part of licensing or registry conditions for sectors such as cleaning, security and landscaping. Such a move would benefit 85,000 local workers.

He also suggested crafting contracts based on performance rather than on headcount, and designing buildings so that less manpower is needed to maintain them in terms of cleaning, security and landscape services.

The plight of workers in the middle-income segment also came into focus as MPs rose to speak about the difficulties retrenched professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) face in an uncertain economic climate.

Nominated MP K. Thanaletchimi suggested strengthening the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP), which helps jobseekers learn new skills to take on new careers. One way could be by giving them mentors and psychological support so they can adapt well to the new work environment.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio GRC) said the PCP does not guarantee workers will be able to command the same pay in their new job, and suggested beefing up the Career Support Programme, which is targeted at older citizens in mid-level and better-paying jobs.

Dr Lily Neo (Jalan Besar GRC) asked for more incentive schemes and coaches to encourage retrenched workers to switch to the growing IT sector. Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten) called for retrenchment benefits to help workers while they look for a new job.

joseow@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 6, 2016.
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