Alliance for Action on Safety and Health for Employment Longevity

The Alliance for Action on Safety and Health for Employment Longevity (AfA-SHEL) is a 2026 alliance jointly led by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF). MOM launched its open call on 23 July 2026 at the Workplace Safety and Health Conference 2026. The alliance brings together employers, workers, government agencies, healthcare institutions, solution providers and other stakeholders to co-create practical, industry-led solutions that strengthen workplace safety and support longer working lives (MOM, 23 July 2026).

Three focus areas

AfA-SHEL focuses on three areas: preventing injuries across the general workforce, including beyond traditionally high-risk workplaces; supporting workers returning after a serious injury or health episode; and adapting workplaces and redesigning jobs so tasks, processes and environments are safer and more suitable for a diverse workforce. These are the alliance's announced innovation priorities, not three new statutory duties or a universal employer grant (MOM, 23 July 2026).

MOM's opening speech gave practical examples of the intended scope: slips, trips, falls and work-related musculoskeletal disorders sit within injury prevention, while return-to-work support is intended to help workers reintegrate after illness or injury. Workplace adaptation can include job redesign, safer work processes and other changes that account for varied physical and health needs. The call therefore covers both prevention before an incident and support after a worker's health has been affected; it is broader than a high-risk-industry-only safety campaign (MOM, 23 July 2026).

Open call and innovation programme

MOM invited Singapore-registered organisations to apply through an open call running from 23 July to 31 August 2026; that application window has closed as of 5 September 2026. Around 30 organisations were expected to be selected, with balanced representation across the three focus areas. Selected participants were to join an innovation programme developing prototypes over approximately 14 months from August 2026, with funding support, access to workplace-safety and industry experts, and consultancy from an assigned account manager (MOM, 23 July 2026). The announced selection volume is a target, not proof that 30 organisations were ultimately selected. After the call closed, applications were to be evaluated by the AfA Secretariat comprising MOM, NTUC, SNEF and the Workplace Safety and Health Council. Funding support and expert access are programme support for selected participants, not an automatic entitlement for every Singapore-registered applicant (MOM, 23 July 2026).

Relationship to other workforce initiatives

AfA-SHEL addresses workplace safety, health, return-to-work and safer job design. It complements the broader Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package and the Tripartite Jobs Council but is not the same programme: EWTP organises enterprise and workforce-transformation support, while TJC coordinates tripartite action around AI-driven transitions. AfA-SHEL is an alliance and innovation call, not a replacement for the Workplace Safety and Health Act, existing return-to-work services or ordinary employment-law duties (MOM, 23 July 2026).

The distinction matters when interpreting outcomes. The source announced a planned innovation programme, but not completed prototypes, a final list of selected organisations or a new legal standard. AfA-SHEL may generate tested practices or tools that complement existing WSH responsibilities, yet employers remain responsible for applicable workplace-safety requirements and ordinary employment protections continue to apply. Later reporting should be checked for selection and implementation results rather than inferred from the launch announcement (MOM, 23 July 2026).