JOHOR BARU: The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has urged employers to report workplace incidents, even ‘near misses’, to the Department of Occupational and Safety Hazard (DOSH).
NIOSH chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said only 20 per cent of accidents at construction sites nationwide were reported to DOSH between 2009 and 2014.
A review, carried out by researchers from NIOSH and two public universities, revealed that out of 31,347 accident cases which occurred in the construction sector in that period, only 787 were investigated by DOSH.
"Employers tried to hide the cases. But the big gap between the number of cases that occurred and the number that were investigated showed that many cases have gone unreported.
"I'm raising this matter because this year's theme for the World Health and Safety Day, celebrated worldwide on April 28, is to ‘optimise the collection and use of Occupational Safety and Health data’," Lee said after launching the state-level World Health and Safety Day at NIOSH in Senai today.