KUALA LUMPUR: The government should review and amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA 1994) to enhance compliance and reduce workplace accidents.
Alliance for Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said employees returning to workplaces under the Restricted Movement Control Order (RMCO) have the right to a safe and healthy working environment.
"For sure, there are the new norms and SOPs to safeguard against Covid-19, but it is also the responsibility of employers and employees to ensure that workplaces are free of accidents which could lead to injuries and deaths.
"It is true that accidents cannot be avoided 100 per cent of the time because some things cannot be foreseen, but it is also a fact that, in most cases, workplace accidents are preventable if all laws and regulations of work safety, including safe operating procedures, are followed and closely supervised," he said in a statement, today.
Lee said as such, everyone must strive to ensure that preventable accidents are avoided.
If stakeholders can prevent the spread of Covid 19, it is all the more reason why workplace accidents must not be allowed to occur due to negligence and lack of care, he added.
Lee said in 2019, a total of 79,650 accidents were reported to Socso, out of which 41,527 were industrial accidents, while 38,123 were commuting accidents. These accidents resulted in a total of 959 deaths.
For the period from January till May this year, 22,624 accidents were reported, of which 11,960 were industrial accidents, while 10,664 were commuting accidents, he said.
Lee said as such, more effort must be put in to further reduce the number of industrial accidents. Other than accident prevention programmes and safety training, law enforcement must be beefed up and the penalties must be increased.
He said that it is time for the government to revisit OSHA 1994 and have it amended and updated to meet present-day needs and ensure greater compliance.
"Take the construction industry as an example. It is generally regarded as a high-risk industry, Construction companies must take a greater interest in matters relating to safety and health. They must know that in their attempt to complete their projects on time, haste may cause some accidents, and thus extend, rather than shorten, the time for the completion of their projects. These delays also invariably increase the cost of the project," he said.
Lee added that in the current situation, only contractors are held liable for any untoward on-site incidents.
"But with the introduction of occupational safety and health in construction industry management provisions, all stakeholders in a project, from its conception to its completion, share the responsibility to ensure the health and safety of the entire project.
"If the penalties provided for in the Act are not deterrent enough for all those involved in the construction industry, it is high time that the Act be amended to increase the penalties and also to widen the scope of the Act," he said.
Lee said along with such measures, it is also important to educate stakeholders in the construction industry, as well as the general public, on the importance of safety and health.
"We must develop a culture of prevention and reduce the number of accidents, both in the construction industry and everywhere else, including shopping malls, schools, offices, in the playgrounds and at home.
"Employers should not consider occupational safety and health as a burden but a catalyst for productivity and profitability."