Ban Lorry Transport of Workers in Singapore
Ban Lorry Transport of Workers in Singapore
The Issue
Every day in Singapore, thousands of migrant workers are transported on the back of lorries — vehicles designed for goods, not people.
This practice is unsafe, undignified, and long overdue for change.
When accidents happen, workers in lorries are far more vulnerable to serious injury or death. Since 2000, at least 114 workers have been killed and more than 8,000 have been injured in lorry-related accidents. These are not rare incidents — they are the predictable result of a system that puts cost and convenience over human lives.
Migrant workers build our homes, roads, and city. They deserve the same basic standards of safety and dignity that everyone else expects.
Yet current measures fall short. The planned ban on “caged lorries” by 2027 does not solve the problem — workers can still be transported in open lorries, which remain inherently unsafe.
Lorry transport is not unavoidable. It is a choice — and it can be changed.
Safe transport options exist.
In 2025, HOME published our Risky Rides report, detailing the current situation and proposed solutions. Safe alternatives already exist, including buses and vehicles with proper seating and seatbelts. With billions collected in foreign worker levies every year (SGD 7.14 billion in 2025), the Government has the means to support employers in making this transition.
We call on the Government of Singapore to:
- Ban the transport of workers on lorries by removing the exception in the Road Traffic Act that allows for the transportation of employees on lorries owned by their employers.
- Set a clear and urgent timeline for businesses to transition to safer transport.
- Support employers, especially SMEs, in making this transition by utilising the foreign worker levy revenue.
- Ensure strong enforcement of current safety measures.
No one should risk their life just to get to work.
End lorry transport now. Choose lives. Choose safety. Choose dignity.
#BanTheRealDanger #HumansNotCargo
Humanitarian Organization of Migration Economics
Website: home.org.sg
FB/IG/Tiktok: @home.migrants.sg
229
The Issue
Every day in Singapore, thousands of migrant workers are transported on the back of lorries — vehicles designed for goods, not people.
This practice is unsafe, undignified, and long overdue for change.
When accidents happen, workers in lorries are far more vulnerable to serious injury or death. Since 2000, at least 114 workers have been killed and more than 8,000 have been injured in lorry-related accidents. These are not rare incidents — they are the predictable result of a system that puts cost and convenience over human lives.
Migrant workers build our homes, roads, and city. They deserve the same basic standards of safety and dignity that everyone else expects.
Yet current measures fall short. The planned ban on “caged lorries” by 2027 does not solve the problem — workers can still be transported in open lorries, which remain inherently unsafe.
Lorry transport is not unavoidable. It is a choice — and it can be changed.
Safe transport options exist.
In 2025, HOME published our Risky Rides report, detailing the current situation and proposed solutions. Safe alternatives already exist, including buses and vehicles with proper seating and seatbelts. With billions collected in foreign worker levies every year (SGD 7.14 billion in 2025), the Government has the means to support employers in making this transition.
We call on the Government of Singapore to:
- Ban the transport of workers on lorries by removing the exception in the Road Traffic Act that allows for the transportation of employees on lorries owned by their employers.
- Set a clear and urgent timeline for businesses to transition to safer transport.
- Support employers, especially SMEs, in making this transition by utilising the foreign worker levy revenue.
- Ensure strong enforcement of current safety measures.
No one should risk their life just to get to work.
End lorry transport now. Choose lives. Choose safety. Choose dignity.
#BanTheRealDanger #HumansNotCargo
Humanitarian Organization of Migration Economics
Website: home.org.sg
FB/IG/Tiktok: @home.migrants.sg
229
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Petition created on 13 April 2026