Advocates say caged lorry ban leaves most workers' transport risks unaddressed

Migrant worker rights organisations and trade union leaders have broadly welcomed Singapore's decision to ban the use of caged lorries for worker transport from 1 January 2027, but cautioned that the measure addresses only a fraction of the broader safety problem facing workers transported on the backs of lorries.

CNA interviewed several advocacy groups, industry figures and a veteran lorry driver in the wake of the announcement, which was made during the Committee of Supply debate for the Ministry of Transport on 4 March 2026.

A welcome but limited measure

Stephanie Chok, executive director of migrant worker rights group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), described the ban as "a small step in the right direction in signalling that migrant workers deserve dignified transport".

She cautioned, however, that lorries themselves remain an unsafe mode of transport regardless of whether they are fitted with cages.

Chok noted that caged lorries account for only 1 to 2 per cent of the approximately 50,000 lorries in Singapore.

"As such, this measure will affect only a small fraction of workers, who will still continue to be transported on the back of lorries and exposed to the same risks as before," she said.

Ethan Guo, executive director of migrant workers' rights organisation Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), said the "ultimate goal" should be to phase out goods vehicles entirely for worker transport in favour of passenger buses.

"There will be costs involved in doing the right thing, yes, but in return, the workers arrive at work in peace and consequently perform better in their jobs the rest of the day," Guo said.

"This isn't something that should be viewed through the lens of profit and loss, but the value of a human life," he added.

Unions echo the call for broader reform

National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) assistant secretary-general Melvin Yong said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that he has "long advocated for safer transport arrangements for workers who are currently transported at the back of lorries".

Yong called for alternatives such as buses or vehicles with proper seat belts, and urged authorities to "outlaw the co-mingling of goods and workers at the back of lorries".

"Today's announcement is a step in the right direction. But where feasible, goods and passengers should be transported separately to reduce the risk of injury during accidents or sudden braking," he said.

Migrant worker charity ItsRainingRaincoats, which has focused on the safe transport of migrant workers since its founding, also welcomed the ban while stressing it was not an endpoint.

"We hope very soon to see the day when migrant workers enjoy the same protections on Singapore's roads as all other road users in Singapore," a spokesperson said.

A driver's perspective

Ang Teck Chye, a lorry driver with more than 30 years of experience, said he had driven workers in caged lorries in the past and found it unsafe. He noted that cage doors are typically latched from the outside, meaning workers cannot disembark without assistance from someone outside the vehicle.

"My feeling is that they're like animals in a cage," he said. "I think this ban is good."

Construction sector warns against a total ban

Construction companies offered measured support for the caged lorry ban but pushed back strongly against calls to extend the prohibition to all lorries.

Akbar Kader, managing director of Nan Guan Construction, said requiring separate vehicles for workers and goods would significantly raise costs, strain the supply of bus drivers and add more vehicles to already-congested roads.

He also raised a social concern about workers turning to public transport if lorries were no longer an option.

"Workers will all go on the MRT, and then people will start complaining that they don't clean themselves up, and that will become another problem," Kader said.

Howard How, director of quality, environmental, health and safety at Boustead Projects, said his firm does not use caged lorries but argued that more could be done to improve the quality of lorry drivers who transport workers.

How noted that many such drivers lack specialised training and are "just workers given the additional responsibility to ferry workers". He called for more rigorous driver education and suggested that stiffer penalties be applied to those involved in accidents while transporting passengers.

Calls for a broader safety culture

Michael Lim, director of the Migrant Workers' Centre (MWC), said regulatory measures must be matched by strong enforcement, employer and worker education and a robust safety culture across the construction sector.

He also called for a review of workplace practices that create unnecessary time pressure — such as penalising drivers for late arrivals — which he said could "inadvertently increase the risk of unsafe driving behaviour".

A record of injury and fatality

Advocacy groups have cited data showing that between 2020 and 2024, an average of 161 workers were injured each year while being transported on lorries. Between 2011 and 2020, 58 workers died and 4,765 were injured in lorry-related accidents.

In January 2026, a collision between a car and a lorry along Orchard Road left 13 people hospitalised, including 12 passengers on the lorry. The previous month, a 33-year-old man was jailed for 27 months after driving at up to twice the speed limit and crashing into a lorry carrying migrant workers in 2023, leaving nine workers with serious injuries.

In 2023, more than 50 community organisations signed a joint statement opposing the continued use of lorries to ferry workers. The groups argued that lorries are not designed to carry passengers and that measures such as canopies and side railings do not address the fundamental risks of open-deck transport.

Economic constraints acknowledged

The question of a total ban was raised in Parliament on 23 September 2025, when He Ting Ru, Member of Parliament for Sengkang, asked whether the Ministry of Transport had studied the impact of banning worker transport on lorry decks.

In a written reply, Jeffrey Siow, Acting Minister for Transport, acknowledged that studies had been conducted but said the full economic impact was difficult to quantify. A key challenge, he noted, was the availability of drivers: shifting all workers to buses would require a significantly larger pool, in a sector already facing persistent shortages.

Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling, who made the caged lorry announcement on 4 March, said the government had worked closely with industry and non-governmental organisations on the issue. She thanked advocacy groups for suggesting the option of replacing cage structures with canopies, railings and rain covers, which companies will be permitted to use as an alternative.

Companies that fail to comply with the 2027 ban will face penalties, the details of which are expected to be announced ahead of the deadline.