KUALA LUMPUR: The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) has expanded its workplace safety training programme to finance sector by introducing the Niosh Financial Institution Safety Passport.
Human Resources Minister Steven Sim said the initiative was a collaboration between Niosh and the banking industry which aimed to ensure the employees in the financial sector had knowledge of workplace safety.
"A safety passport is a course that everyone must complete before entering a specific area to ensure the workplace is safer and healthier.
"Under Niosh there are 25 safety passports, and this time, it's for the banking sector, which can further strengthen workplace safety in the financial sector," Sim said after the pre-launch ceremony of the Asean Safety and Health Workers Summit 2025.
He said companies were not compelled to take part in the initiative.
On the RM1,700 minimum wage that will be enforced next month, Sim reminded employers not to treat it as a starting salary, particularly for graduates.
He said the new minimum wage would benefit 4.3 million workers, with 80 per cent of them being Malaysians.
"We have engaged with various parties, including employer representatives, and sufficient time and space have been given.
"It was announced in October, and for small and medium enterprises, we have postponed it until August. We do not foresee any issues arising in terms of implementation," he said.
When tabling Budget 2025 in Oct last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the minimum wage would be raised from RM1,500 to RM1,700 from Feb 1.
However, small businesses with fewer than five employees had until Aug 1 to implement it.