KOTA KINABALU: Commuting accidents in Sabah have increased while industrial or workplace-related incidents dropped within the period of 2012 until last year.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said commuting accidents involved employees who travel from their homes to the workplace and vice versa.
"The Social Security Organisation recorded 481 commuting accidents in 2015 compared to 377 in 2012.
"For industrial accidents, there were 600 cases in 2015 and 1,029 in 2012," he said after launching the DBKK-NIOSH safety permit at the Kota Kinabalu City Hall office here.
Earlier, Lee said City Hall had become the first local authority in Sabah to make it mandatory for its contractors to learn about occupational safety.
"City Hall has set a benchmark for other local authorities to take the lead that safety cannot be compromised.
“Safety means workers are able to complete their jobs at workplace and return home to their loved ones safely at the end of the day."
To date, there are more than 20 contractors that have obtained the DBKK-NIOSH safety permit.
The permit, formerly known as the Contractor Safety Passport system when it was implemented in 1990s, has resulted in a significant reduction of accident rates, near-misses, unsafe conditions and unsafe acts in companies participate in the programme.