PETALING JAYA: Every construction site should have a safety supervisor because the sector is among the top three industries with the most foreign worker deaths.
The Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) said most foreigners who died while at work in Malaysia were from the manufacturing, construction and agriculture sectors.
Among the top causes of these deaths last year were “undefined accidents”, falling from heights, falling objects, being pinned by an object and exposure to electricity.
In an e-mail interview, DOSH said there were 145 “undefined accidents” out of a total of 222 foreigners who died at work last year.
They include deaths at worksites without any witnesses, natural causes and unknown causes.
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said these undefined incidents could be reduced by a site safety supervisor.
He said regulations required every worksite to have a site safety supervisor or “triple S” since 2012.
“It is important for the triple S to monitor works to minimise negligence,” Lee said.
He said the recent spate of accidents in the construction sector was a matter of concern and steps must be taken to address the issue.
Lee said there were 17 deaths caused by accidents at the construction sites up to March 31 this year, based on statistics from DOSH.
“Another 32 workers sustained non-permanent disabilities while three others were left permanently disabled,” he said.
He said the data also showed that number of deaths at construction sites seemed to be increasing, with 72 cases last year compared with 69 in 2013.
More recently on Monday, an upper floor of a nearly completed shopping complex in Alor Gajah, Malacca, collapsed, leaving three foreign workers killed and six seriously injured.
DOSH said the department had taken several steps to improve safety standards.
“This includes taking action against workplaces that do not comply with the law and conducting checks at sites to ensure the environment and equipment are safe with no health risks to workers,” it said.
On unclaimed bodies of foreign workers, the Labour Department in peninsular Malaysia said the employer would be assisted by authorities like the police, hospital and local council to make arrangements for a decent burial according to the deceased’s faith.
“This is in the event the family of the deceased worker cannot be traced or beyond other factors,” the department said.
However, this procedure was only applicable to foreign workers who were insured and legally employed in peninsular Malaysia.
