Given the rising number of work-related fatalities in construction sites over the past two years, the Johor Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) plans to strictly check every contractor and developer to ensure they are following safety rules, reported the Star.
According to the agency’s Director Saiful Azhar Mohd Said, there were 40 workplace-related deaths in 2016, of which 20 occurred in construction sites. But last year, the total number of fatalities rose to 45, of which 27 happened in construction sites.
“It is rather worrying as 50 percent of workplace-related fatalities in Johor were at construction sites,” Saiful said. Many of the deaths resulted from lifting of heavy materials, malfunctioning machinery, fall from high places and non-competent workforce.
He revealed that they penalised 17 building contractors in 2017 for different safety violation in construction sites, with total penalties amounting to RM172,000.
At the same time, they issued 80 compounds to 25 contractors involved in high-rise projects in Johor Bahru district for flouting safety guidelines and procedures.
“To date, there are 1,100 sites in the state with thousands of workers and we will continuously monitor construction sites in Johor,” he pledged.
Saiful said the large number of construction sites in Johor is thanks to the rapid development of Iskandar and flourishing petrochemical complex in Pengerang, Kota Tinggi.
“There are some 70,000 workers in Pengerang petrochemical complex alone and 8,000 in Forest City project,” said Saiful, after giving a certificate certifying zero workplace injuries to Giant Leap, the main contractor of the large-scale Forest City project.
He said the state will need more construction workers for four major infrastructure projects that will be built over the next five to 10 years.
These include the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rail Transit Link, the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail (HSR), the Iskandar Malaysia Bus Rapid Transit and the Gemas-Johor Bahru double-tracking electrified train project.
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
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