KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 — The country’s occupational safety and health (OSH) performance shows that the rate of fatal accidents at workplace recorded a decrease of eight per cent last year, said Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.
He said the statistic was equivalent to 3.83 per 100,000 employees compared to 4.14 per 100,000 employees recorded in 2018.
“For the construction sector in particular, fatal accidents involving workers decreased by 16 per cent (11.28 per 100,000 workers) compared to 13.44 per 100,000 workers in 2018.
“The drop in the fatal accident rate clearly shows that employers and employees are beginning to realise the importance of ensuring a safe and healthy workplace,” he said when visiting the Merdeka 118 Tower project site here today.
The Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) said the fatal accidents involve sectors such as manufacturing, mining, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, utilities (gas, water, electricity and sanitation), transportation, storage, communications and construction.
Saravanan, however, said that rate of accidents in the workplace increased by 13 per cent (2.71 per 1,000 employees) last year, compared to 2.40 per 1,000 employees in 2018.
Therefore, the effort to make the Guidelines of Occupational Safety And Health in Construction Industry 2017 or OSHCIM developed by DOSH as mandatory was in the final stage of discussion with the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
OSHCIM provides practical guidance to the client, designer and contractor on the management of safety, health and welfare when carrying out construction projects.
He explained that a total of 10 pilot projects had been recognised as OSHCIM Pilot Projects, which involves three government projects under the Public Works Department (JKR) and seven private projects.
DOSH had conducted 301,635 inspections on workplaces and machinery last year, he added.
Saravanan said a total of 26,980 notices were issued, namely 1,481 cases were slapped with compound fines while 421 cases were charged in court.
He said the total penalties for the period were RM8.05 million.
Meanwhile, Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) president and group chief executive Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn said the construction of the tower is 52.2 per cent complete and expected to be completed by mid-2022.
— Bernama
