DON'T COMPROMISE SAFETY WHEN IMPLEMENTING CUTTING COST MEASURES

PENANG, March 3 (Bernama) -- Employers have been urged not to compromise on
safety and welfare of workers when implementing cost cutting measures to weather
the current economic crisis.

Chairman of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Lee
Lam Thye said trying to cut down costs by compromising safety and welfare of
workers was not a wise or sensible move.

"During this economic crisis many employers will retort with cutting cost
measures to reduce their operational costs. And some employers are of the
opinion that cost towards the safety and welfare of workers results in reduced
profits for them.

"But employers must understand that the cost of implementing occupational
safety measures will be far less compared with the cost borne by employers when
workers meet with accidents at their work places," he said.

Lee added that statistics in the Human Resource Ministry showed that
industrial accidents have declined over the past 10 years by 35 per cent - from
86,589 in 1997 to 56,339 in 2007.

However, the number of accidents involving workers who were on their way to
work or while returning home, has not improved much since 17,682 cases were
recorded in 2007 compared with 18,309 in 1999.
-- BERNAMA