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KUALA LUMPUR: In July this year, a professor Rosli Abdul Aziz died after falling from the balcony of the first floor of a building in Sekolah Kebangsaan Batu Gajah in Kelantan.
The tragedy occurred as the 54-year-old math teacher was inspecting the plumbing system in preparation for the school’s reopening on July 15.
Commenting on this incident, Senior Education Minister Dr. Radzi Jidin said that his ministry will hold discussions with all stakeholders to determine standard operating procedures in school maintenance work performed by teachers.
Another case reported by the media involved a Sabah factory worker who was injured after the machine he was driving exploded. Unfortunately for him, his employer did not offer him any help.
These two cases are just two of the many accidents in the workplace that, in most cases, occur due to non-compliance by the employer with safety and health regulations at work.
The safety, health and well-being of workers in the blue-collar and white-collar employment sectors are guaranteed by the provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1994 (Osha), which is the responsibility of the Department of Safety and Health. Occupational (Dosh) in the Ministry of Human Resources.
Malaysia Society for Occupational Safety and Health (MSOSH) Vice President 2 Zanuddin Kisman said that under Section 15, subsection (1) of OSHA, it is the general obligation of every employer and self-employed person to ensure, to the extent possible, all aspects of safety, health and well-being of your employees.
The obligation also includes providing information, instruction and training as necessary to guarantee the safety and health of employees at work, as provided in subsection (2) (c) of the same section.
The provisions are clearly outlined in the law, but what Zanuddin finds frustrating is the nonchalant attitude of some employers who do not pay attention to safety and health issues in the workplace.
Citing statistics released by Dosh, between January and June of this year, the department instituted 85 prosecutions in relation to crimes committed under OSHA and five prosecutions in relation to the Factories and Machinery Act of 1967, with penalties totaling RM1,284,700. .
MSOSH also advises employers to regularly conduct occupational health and safety risk analyzes for each sphere of work in which their employees are involved to ensure their safety and reduce the risk of mishaps.
STATISTICS
Zanuddin said Dosh’s 2019 National Occupational Accident and Illness Leading Indicators report revealed some shocking data that concerned authorities should pay attention to.
According to the data, the accident rate for the 15,073,400 workers nationwide was 2.71 per 1,000 workers and the mortality rate was 3.83 per 100,000 workers.
The report covered 10 labor sectors and the topics considered were workers who suffered permanent disability (PD), non-permanent disability (NPD) or died in the workplace.
“For PD and NPD cases in 2019, the manufacturing sector dominated the table with 214 PD cases and 4,661 NPD cases. The construction sector recorded the highest number of deaths with 84 cases, ”said Zanuddin.
In total, the 10 sectors recorded 7,984 workplace accidents throughout 2019, while a total of 259 deaths were reported. The cases of PD and NPD totaled 281 and 7,444, respectively.
Urging employers to improve workplace safety to reduce the risk of accidents, Zanuddin suggested that they appoint a coordinator to handle all matters related to worker health and safety.
“If they can afford to appoint a qualified occupational safety and health officer, then great. But if they can’t afford it, they can name a coordinator from their staff who have received training provided by DOSH.
“The coordinator will have the task of supervising the implementation of the safety and health regulations at work. This is especially suitable for small and medium-sized companies, ”he said.
WORKERS MUST ALSO COMPLY
According to OSHA, Zanuddin said, employees also have a role to play in ensuring their safety in the workplace.
In accordance with Section 24, it is the duty of every employee, among others, to take reasonable care of the safety and health of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his actions; cooperate with your employer or any other person in the performance of any duty; and wear or use at all times any protective equipment or clothing provided by the employer in order to prevent risks to your safety and health.
On whether Osha needed any improvements, Zanuddin said it is important that industry players restructure occupational health and safety procedures and implement them in a more systematic way.
He also called for more comprehensive enforcement action by Dosh and increasing existing penalties against employers caught violating Osha’s provisions.
Currently, the maximum fine for any crime committed under Osha is RM50,000 or two years in prison or both.
“The penalties are not stringent enough to deter employers … we have to get rid of the perception that citations are ‘affordable’,” he said, adding that the penalties must match those of the Environmental Quality Act of 1974, which establishes a maximum fine of RM500,000 or five years in prison or both for offenders.Called
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