KOTA KINABALU: The Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) has investigated 274 occupational accidents involving those working in agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors across the country for the first five months of this year.
Deputy Human Resource Minister Datuk Mahfuz Omar said 3.6 per cent of the total number or 10 cases investigated involved fatal accidents while 33 other cases were workplace-related disease and poisoning.
“Among the fatal cases recorded including falling off tractors, electrocuted, injured by oil palm fruit sickle and inhaled toxic gas while working in a confined space,” he said at the opening of the Occupational Safety and Health at the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Sectors seminar here yesterday.
Also present were DOSH director-general Ir Omar Mat Piah and Sabah DOSH director Zulkifli Yahaya.
About 200 participants, namely, employers and workers in agriculture, fisheries, plantation and forestry sectors in Sabah, participated in the one-day seminar organised by DOSH in collaboration with the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH) and the Social Security Organisation (Socso).
The seminar was aimed at raising awareness on the aspects of occupational safety and health in the three sectors as they were also facing the risk of injuries and health hazard that could lead to serious illness.
Mahfuz, who is also NCOSH chairman, said related parties, especially employers, should view accidents and occupational diseases occurring in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors, seriously in efforts to prevent recurring of such incidents.
He also wanted the preventive culture of occupational accidents and disease to be practiced by employers and employees as it was very important to create a safe and healthy working environment.
It was the government’s desire to turn the workplace across the country, especially the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors to be a safe and healthy environment in giving protection to workers thus reducing workplace accident rate, he said.
Speaking to reporters later, Mahfuz said that every employer had full control over any work-related activities, and they were also responsible for identifying the dangers at workplace before allowing workers to commence their designated tasks. — Bernama