Workers not wearing safety gear

The New Straits Times Online, 11 October 2013

 

ALOR STAR: SAFETY should be a priority for everyone. However, in a recent Streets check at various construction sites along Lebuhraya Datul Aman and Jalan Kanchut, here, it was found that most of the contractors and their workers at the project sites in the city were not wearing any safety gear, including helmets, reflective wear and safety boots, putting their safety at risk.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Act, workers are required to wear safety gears such as helmets, boots, goggles, gloves and safety belts.

It is also mandatory for all labourers to wear safety gears while working.

However, state Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) could not be reached for comments and attempts to reach its director proved futile.

Meanwhile, Perlis Department of Occupational Safety and Health director Rukairulaizam Ab Rahman said three compound notices amounting to RM7,500 had been issued to employers in the state last year for failing to comply with the regulations.

"From January until August this year, we have collected RM4,050 in compounds," he said when contacted recently.

A number of developers were taken to court for breaching the safety regulations.

From the eight cases filed from January to August this year, the developers were fined RM25,300 compared to RM6,200 from four cases in the same period last year.

On workplace accidents in Perlis, there were two fatal cases last year and two cases until August this year.

Read more: Workers not wearing safety gear - Latest - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/workers-not-wearing-safety-gear-1.372940#ixzz2hwTUIdA3

Cetak Emel