KUALA LUMPUR: The Alliance for A Safe Community has lauded the increase in penalties for those violating the Occupational Safety and Health (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Factories and Machinery Act (Repeal) Act 1967.
Its chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the amended Act would significantly reduce the number of industrial accidents at workplaces.
"We welcome the move by the Human Resources Ministry which takes a serious view of the violation of the Act, in the interest of promoting safety at the workplace.
"The purpose of occupational safety and health is to ensure that the employers and employees will collectively play a role in reducing the number of accidents at worksites. This matter must be taken seriously by both the employers and employees," he said in a statement.
Lee said that it was the responsibility of the employees to take necessary measures to prevent accidents, as well as for the employers to invest in safety and health to minimise, if not address accidents in the workplace.
"Every step must be taken to ensure employers and employees are fully aware of the importance of safety and this awareness must be constantly enhanced with employers and employees working together to increase awareness."
Lee said under the amended Act, it was now mandatory for any place of work with five or more employees to have a health safety coordinator.
"This is in effect from June 1, alongside an increase in penalty.
"It is a positive move to ensure greater safety attention must be given to workplaces with more than five employees including restaurants, mamak shops, small and medium enterprises and family enterprises.
"They are required to have one of the staff to be trained as a health safety coordinator."
He said the Alliance for A Safe Community was prepared to play its role in helping not only create awareness among the workforce but also to assist in providing necessary training for all those who are required to send off their workers for training as safety coordinators.
"This includes assistance to continuously coordinate programmes with the authorities and law enforcement agencies to reduce accidents at worksites.
"The amended act will go a long way to bring down industrial accidents at the workplace.
"It will contribute to the work safety culture in the country."
Yesterday, the Human Resources Ministry in a statement said those violating the Occupational Safety and Health (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Factories and Machinery Act (Repeal) Act 1967 will soon face a maximum fine of RM500,000 as it comes into effect on June 1.
The ministry said the amended Act, which covers the increase in fine penalty from RM50,000, was gazetted on March 16.
It would ensure that the issues of workers' safety, health and welfare were given attention and make the workplace an occupational accident and disease-free area, it said.