TIME TO PRIVATISE ENFORCEMENT

AS a retired Human Resources Ministry officer, I was horrified to read about industrial accidents occurring, some of which involved fatalities.

The Sungai Kim Kim toxic pollution crisis is not just a disregard for environmental laws, but also points to poor enforcement of workplace safety.

When I was in service, one of the proposals was to beef up the ministry’s enforcement by privatising it.

But this proposal was shot down many times.

Right now, agencies under ministries have their own enforcement unit.

For example, the Labour Department acts against employers who do not pay salaries on time, and the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) goes after companies that fail to meet minimum health and safety standards at the workplace.

This arrangement has resulted in agencies working in silo.

For example, a DOSH official on his rounds in factories will not act against employers hiring illegals even if he stumbles on them.

His jurisdiction is confined to workplace health and safety, not workers without permits.

And by the time he informs the authorities about this, the illegal workers would have fled. This creates inefficiency and is more costly.

Under the proposed unified enforcement unit, one employee can take over the jobs of staff from different agencies.

The current arrangement also creates room for enforcement officials to build relationships with parties whom they are supposed to oversee.

This is why a unified enforcement team can plug loopholes.

To boost government coffers, companies can bid for licences to carry out such enforcement.

Since private companies are profit-driven.

They would be incentivised to ensure not just tight enforcement, but optimum use of manpower. If companies slack, revoke their licences.

Privatisation of enforcement is not new.

In Malaysia, vehicle inspection, previously undertaken by the Road Transport Department, is done by Puspakom, a private company.

But unlike Puspakom, enforcement of human resources laws should not be monopolised by one company, but should be opened up.

This will enable competition and bring about efficiency.

Singapore has privatised some enforcement agencies.

For example, there are five commercial auxiliary police forces authorised to provide armed security to government organisations.

Singapore’s Land Transport Authority has also authorised companies to conduct vehicle inspections.

Privatising enforcement can trim the civil service.

The government and the public can derive benefits by merging and privatising enforcement.

I appeal to Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran to consider this proposal.