NIOSH-PRESS RELEASE FOR SOCSO

According to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Human Resources, the number of industrial accidents reported to SOCSO for all sectors decreased from 109,447 in 1994 to 56,339 in 2007. This is a substantial reduction of almost 50 percent over a period of thirteen years.

Although there is a decline in the average number of industrial accidents from 17 per 1,000 workers in 1994 to 6.7 in 2007, we should strive against the benchmark of developed countries which only have 3-4 accidents per 1,000 workers.

Companies should regard occupational safety and health as part of their corporate responsibility and must allocate yearly budget for safety training to help prevent work-related accidents because accidents don’t just happen as they are caused and as such they can be prevented.

Making the workplace safe is a joint responsibility of both the employers and the employees. Thus, training of employees is the key to achieving a successful safety programme and management must be committed to invest in safety.

The focal point of safety training is the human being needs protection in all aspects of his life. Thus, training is an essential part of OSH programmes to reduce injuries and fatalities at the workplace.

An accident prevention strategy should be adopted at all workplaces. To achieve the total promotion of safety and health at work and elsewhere, organizational measures for prevention and measures for motivation and behavioural change must be adopted.

Managements who are responsible for the safety and health at the workplace can change the attitude of safety and health of their employees. Management or employers must recognize occupational safety and health of employees as an integral part of business management. Concerns for the bottomline must be looked at with equal gravity with OSH issues at the workplace. After all they are both concerned with the viability of the business enterprise.

There is a need to eradicate the misconception, that safety and health at work is the responsibility of the Government alone. It is not so. Ensuring the safety and health of workers is a collective responsibility of the Government, employers and the employees themselves. Industrial accidents can be reduced if every workplace takes steps not only to enunciate its safety and health policy but also to set up its safety and health committee with the objective of promoting a safety culture among the workforce.

Total commitment from top management is essential in working closely with employees to promote occupational safety and health for their organizations. Occupational safety should not be seen as a profit-sapping factor for the management of industries, but be regarded as a productivity booster. Industries must realize that accident prevention is no longer a fringe benefit but a prerequisite to a profitable operation.

Industries and employers must realize that four fundamental factors justify OSH management. These are, corporate responsibility, social and moral obligation, good business sense and legal obligation. Common sense tells us that effective OSH management not only reduces the risk to safety and health but also ensure high returns to the company in terms of productivity and profitability.