OSHMO UMP  

Keeping young workers safe

Saturday, 28 Apr 2018 -  TODAY is World Day for Safety and Health at Work, which is also known as World Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Day 2018 in Malaysia.

On this day every year, government, employers and workers’ organisations worldwide are encouraged to conduct awareness-raising activities within their areas of influence to reduce accidents and ill-health at the workplace.

It started in 1996 when trade unions worldwide observed April 28 as a date to commemorate dead and injured workers. In 2003, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) became involved in the campaign upon the request of trade unions and has since then capitalised on its traditional strengths of tripartism and social dialogue to help promote this special day.

World OSH Day is also an annual event to increase awareness about how to make work safe and healthy as well as to raise the profile of OSH in the respective countries.

Themed “Generation Safe & Healthy”, this year’s commemoration is in line with ILO’s aim to secure safe working environments for all workers by 2030 and end all forms of child labour by 2025.

According to ILO, some 541 million young workers aged between 15 and 24 years old account for more than 15% of the world’s labour force and suffer up to a 40% higher rate of non-fatal occupational injuries than adult workers. These young workers include 37 million children working in hazardous conditions.

We must also highlight the risks facing young workers in Malaysia and address these challenges by improving the safety and health aspect for them.

Under the Children and Young Persons (Employment) (Amend­ment) Act 2010, the definition of a “child” is a person below 16 years old while a “young person” is a person who is aged between 16 and 18 years old.

Under the amended Act, children and young people should not engage in any hazardous work and should not be allowed to be engaged in employment contrary to the Factories and Machinery Act 1967, the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 or the Electricity Supply Act 1990 or in any employment requiring them to work underground.

Since they are new to the workplace, most of these young workers lack knowledge, experience and maturity. Many of them may not be aware of the risks they face at the workplace.

Other factors that may put young workers at greater risk include insufficient skills and training, lack of awareness of their rights and their employer’s duties, not having the confidence to speak out and employers not recognising the additional protection that young workers need.

It is the employer’s responsibility to protect the safety and health of workers and they should pay particular attention to young workers. They must carry out a risk assessment exercise before a young person starts work and put in place measures to protect them.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994, it is the responsibility of both employers and their workers to ensure safety and health at the workplace and those who fail to do so could be charged in court.

Employers and contractors who fail to provide a safe and healthy working environment for their employees can be charged under Section 15 of OSHA 1994, which carries a maximum sentence of a RM50,000 fine, or two years’ jail, or both.

Young workers must also be given work appropriate to their age and provided with adequate training and supervision.

Employers should promote a strong safety culture and involve young workers in safety matters.

One of the main problems facing the industrial sector in Malaysia, especially the manufacturing and services industries, is the over reliance on foreign workers. As a result, the training and development of young employees have been neglected.

Young workers must undergo professional training such as those offered by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and apprenticeship programme that could help improve their knowledge and skills.

It would eventually help reduce work-related accidents and illnesses, which could become an economic burden on workers and their families as well as on enterprises and on society as a whole.

There is clear evidence that a healthy workforce can enhance business productivity, benefit enterprises and national economies by reducing the number of accidents and diseases and lowering the number of insurance and compensation claims.

I believe our people should also be exposed to a good safety and health culture at a young age, and this is one of the main reasons why NIOSH has brought the OSH culture to school.

Under its “OSH in School” programme, for example, NIOSH aims to educate and create OSH awareness among students, who could then act as the eyes and ears of the school management in hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control (HIRARC).

With adequate OSH knowledge and awareness, students who leave school will have practical safety knowledge that they can take with them when they join the workforce.

Malaysia is among a few countries in the world that has introduced OSH in schools and I am confident the efforts to promote good OSH culture at a young age could help create a safe and healthy generation.

Ultimately, when OSH is integrated into the community, it will become a core value and contribute towards the achievement of an OSH culture at all workplaces.

TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE

Chairman

National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health


Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2018/04/28/keeping-young-workers-safe/#lCXqRXMYyLpBqZbs.99

Ensuring safety at construction sites in Johor

GELANG PATAH: Johor Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) aims to reduce the number of fatalities at construction sites by ensuring safety measures were in place.

Its director, Saiful Azhar Mohd Said, said there were 45 workplace-related fatalities reported in Johor last year, of which 27 cases were at construction sites.

In 2016, he said, there were 40 fatalities at workplaces, half at construction sites.

“It is rather worrying as 50% of workplace-related fatalities in Johor were at construction sites,” Saiful said after presenting a lost-time injury free certificate to Giant Leap Sdn Bhd here.

Saiful said last year, the department had charged 17 building contractors for various offences committed at construction sites and the penalties totalled RM172,000.

During the same period, 80 compounds were issued to 25 contractors at high-rise development projects in the Johor Baru district for failing to observe safety guidelines and procedures.

“To date, there are 1,100 sites in the state with thousands of workers and we will continuously monitor construction sites in Johor,’’ he said.

Saiful said the fatal accidents at the construction sites included falls from high places, lifting of heavy materials, malfunctioning machinery and non-competent workforce.

He said the high number of construction sites in Johor was due to vast development in Iskandar Malaysia and the integrated petrochemical complex in Pengerang, Kota Tinggi.

“There are some 70,000 workers in Pengerang petrochemical complex alone and 8,000 in Forest City project,’’ said Saiful.

He said more workforce would be needed in Johor for the construction of four major infrastructure projects scheduled to take place within the next five to 10 years.

The multi-billion ringgit projects include the High Speed Rail, Johor Baru-Singapore Rail Transit Link, Gemas-Johor Baru double-tracking electrified train project and Iskandar Malaysia Bus Rapid Transit.


Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2018/03/14/ensuring-safety-at-construction-sites-in-johor-dosh-aims-to-reduce-fatalities-especially-with-more-m/#bRIZ43MMFBiEWWEV.99

Foreign worker killed by falling scaffolding

Saturday, 10 Mar 2018 - 

PETALING JAYA: A foreign worker was killed and four other­­s were injured when a metal scaffolding toppled over and landed on them.

Police have yet to release the name of the deceased, aged 18, from Indonesia.

The four injured, aged between 20 and 35, received treatment at the Sungai Buloh hospital.

The latest incident early yesterday at a factory, which is still under construction in Bukit Beruntung, was the third in less than two weeks.

Hulu Selangor OCPD Supt Lim Bak Phai said the cause of the incident was still under investigation.

The Department of Occupa­tional Safety and Health has also launched an investigation into the incident.

“We are aware of it and a team has been sent to assess the situation.

“If we find any evidence of non-compliance at the site, action will be taken against the company involved,” said deputy director-general (occupational safety and health) Omar Mat Piah.

He said the onus was on the employer to ensure good safety practices were in place and enforced.

The partial collapse of a launching gantry at a Jinjang MRT site killed a worker on March 3.

On Feb 26, the toppling of a crane at a construction site of the SUKE Expressway project along the Middle Ring Road 2 injured a man and resulted in a bad traffic congestion.

National Institute of Occu­pa­tional Safety and Health chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said all those involved in the construction industry must be committed to safety.

“The construction industry is a high-risk industry. Safety is not something to be taken for granted.

“While waiting for the outcome of the investigation, I hope all parties would take the necessary measures to adopt the best practices to ensure safety at construction sites,” he said.


Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/03/10/foreign-worker-killed-by-falling-scaffolding-four-others-also-hurt-in-third-incident-in-less-than-tw/#SXLP9xgyBGyyX1jw.99

Price to pay for stress at work

Thursday, 22 Feb 2018 - 

THERE are many working conditions that a person encounters at the workplace on a daily basis which affect his physical and emotional wellbeing.

Excessive work demand, workload and stressful deadlines, long working hours, insufficient staffing, lack of support from co-workers and supervisors, annoying co-workers, angry customers and hazardous working conditions are among the issues that contribute to stress at work. 

Job uncertainties such as impending layoffs, restructuring and management changes are also likely to affect the employee psychologically.

Stress can also arise because of an employer’s wrongful conduct such as harassing or humiliating the worker in the presence of other workers; victimising or targeting a particular member of staff; falsely accusing a worker of criminal misconduct; inappropriately demoting a worker with a substantial reduction in salary, bonus, benefits, status, responsibilities and authority; making a significant change in his job location at short notice; or forcing him to resign.

There is a significant relationship between stress and job performance. Stress is the common denominator for depleting work performance and productivity. Workers affected by occupational stress often show high dissatisfaction in terms of job mobility, burnout and less effective interpersonal relations at work. This may be manifested in behaviours such as persistent lateness or tardiness, taking excessive sick leave or repeated absences.

An employee who absents himself from his workplace on a scheduled workday will inevitably disrupt the employer’s work schedules and customer commitments. To minimise the work disruption caused by an absent employee, a regular worker would in normal circumstances assume the workload.

Long-term stress or traumatic events at work can affect the physical health of the worker. Studies have shown that an employee who is preoccupied with job responsibilities tend to have irregular eating habits and lack regular exercise, resulting in weight problems, high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels – the onset of heart disease.

Hence, occupational stress should be viewed seriously by the employer, who has an obligation to take reasonable care of the safety and health of his workers. Breach of this duty may place the employer in legal predicament. The affected worker may file a civil claim against the employer for negligence or for failure to provide a safe place of work. In other words, the employer can be held liable for an employee’s psychiatric illness arising from occupational or work- related stress. It is therefore important for the employer to ensure that workers are not burdened beyond their capacity to carry out the task or assignment.

Workers should also be treated with courtesy, politeness and kindness regardless of their position in the organisation. It goes without saying that treating workers with dignity and respect will make a great difference in the person’s productivity and creativity, besides fostering greater employee engagement in the organisation.

PROFESSOR DATUK SRI DR ASHGAR ALI ALI MOHAMED

Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws

International Islamic University Malaysia


Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2018/02/22/price-to-pay-for-stress-at-work/#XJJUJGmPkaOivylC.99

Year to commit to occupational safety

Monday, 8 Jan 2018 -  AT the start of a new year, NIOSH wishes to reiterate its commitment to contribute towards the achievement of an occupational safety and health (OSH) culture at all workplaces in both the public and private sector.

This will be done through discharging its responsibilities as an institute to provide training, consultancy services, research and development as well as information dissemination.

Through its advocacy of “Bridging the OSH Gap through a Prevention Culture”, NIOSH calls on managements responsible for the safety and health at the workplace to change the attitude and perception of their employees on safety and health through OSH awareness programmes, effective OSH management, OSH competency and, most important, accident prevention culture.

It is no longer adequate to merely provide job instructions to workers without supplementing them with the appropriate skills and competency needed through education and training. They must understand the rationale of minimising risks to their safety and health as well as meeting the industrial and OSHMS requirements.

The overall responsibility for providing a safe and healthy working environment rests with the employers who should demonstrate their commitment to OSH. This can be done by building and maintaining a preventive safety and health culture that addresses the principles of prevention, hazard identification, risk assessment and control, information and training.

Workers, on the other hand, have a duty to cooperate with their employers in implementing OSH programmes. They should observe and adhere to the procedures and other instructions designed to protect them and others present at the workplace from exposure to occupational hazards.

All work-related accidents and ill health can be prevented if there is adequate foresight, planning, organisation and commitment to identify where the hazards are, assess the risks and take action before an accident happens or an illness is contracted.

Preserving human health is the key objective of social security. Promoting and creating a safety and health culture can save lives and reduce costs to society.

It is high time for employers and employees to be fully committed to workplace safety. The Government, employers and employees must be committed to achieving a work culture that ensures safety and health. It must be emphasised that there should be no compromise on safety and health at the workplace.

The culture of an organisation dictates employee behaviour. Thus, the culture determines whether or not any safety programme will be effective.

However, culture is not established by written policies but through effective leadership, day-to-day actions and decisions as well as the system in place that will ensure OSH is practised by managers, supervisors and work teams.

Leading effectively means knowing how to inspire people to channel their energies towards adopting OSH best practices. The quality of leadership shown by the management is vital in developing high standards of health and safety practices. Ultimately, when OSH is integrated into the organisational culture and becomes a core value, involvement and commitment from top management down to the rank-and-file employees can be further reinforced.

TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE

Chairman

NIOSH Malaysia


Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2018/01/08/year-to-commit-to-occupational-safety/#03lKCPSbFCjo8aQ1.99

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— Hubungi

Occupational Safety & Health Management Unit (OSHMO)
Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah
Lebuh Persiaran Tun Khalil Yaakob
26300, Kuantan
Pahang, Malaysia

— Capaian Pantas