PUTRAJAYA: New employees are more likely to get involved in accidents at their workplaces as compared to their senior colleagues.
Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Noraini Ahmad said this was because many of these employees are eager to please their bosses. In addition, they are usually also excited about their new jobs.
"We have found that many of those involved in workplace accidents in Malaysia have been working for less than six months after finishing school or graduating.
"Maybe they are excited about getting their first salaries and are eager to follow their bosses' orders, including doing dangerous tasks without any thought to their safety.
"That's why it is important for us to start promoting awareness about occupational safety and health issues in schools," she told reporters Friday after a press conference on OSH Week here.
Noraini however said that the scenario was reversed in developed nations where many of those involved in workplace accidents were those about to retire.
"In Japan and in Scandinavian countries, where there are fewer young people, employees have to work until their 60s so they face dangers from failing eyesight and less mobility," she said, adding that as a rapidly developing country, Malaysia was heading towards that trend.
Noraini said Malaysia also hoped to halve its rate of workplace accidents at six cases for every 1,000 workers by the year 2020.
"At present, the manufacturing sector records the highest number of workplace accidents, which is where we have most of our workers. However, the construction sector sees the highest number of fatalities," she said.
Noraini said OSH Week, which runs from Monday until Friday at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur, also aimed to promote awareness of occupational safety among women workers.
"Most women work in service and electronic sectors, where they are required to handle detergents and chemical solutions that may pose a risk to their reproductive system. Similarly, they come into potential harm using pesticides in farms," she pointed out.
Below is the fatal accidents graph involving workers in year 2009. Death toll illustrated mostly came from building construction sector.
No comments:
Post a Comment