DOSH to have eyes in the sky

GEORGE TOWN: Drones may be used to catch employers who flout laws that protect their employees’ safety and health.

The Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) may soon have its “eyes in the sky” to check on large premises, especially construction sites, for signs of bosses not caring for their workers well enough.

Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran said despite a nationwide manpower of 1,600, he was surprised that DOSH did not have drones to monitor risky operations.

“Drones will be among the things that we are going to ask for an allocation to buy.

“If we had such technology, we could have taken proactive action and reduce our dependence on manpower,” he said during a visit to the Bukit Kukus landslide in Penang yesterday.

He added that the ministry wanted to amend nine Acts, among them the Occupational, Safety And Health Act, to punish errant employers severely.

“The law will ensure that DOSH be given more power against owners, developers, designers and contractors. The present Act only covers the main contractor. We want more people to be held responsible when there are wrongdoings,” he added.

Foreign workers, he said, would also get a fair share of benefits through amendments to the Foreign Workmen Compensation Act.