Govt agencies urged to form safety and health committees

KUALA TERENGGANU: The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Service (Cuepacs) has urged government agencies to establish occupational safety and health (OS&H) committees to safeguard the safety and health of civil servants.

Its president, Datuk Azih Muda said for example, the Ministry of Education which has about half a million staff, has no OS&H committees although the teachers and students are exposed to risks all the time. Out of the more than 700 government agencies, only a handful has OS&H committees.

“The OS&H committees should be established in every agency because the absence of a responsible party makes for poor management.

“When there is a responsible party, the management can review the SOP and matters that do not comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994,” he told reporters after opening a workshop on Occupational Safety and Health for the public sector, here yesterday.

Azih said the ex-gratia (goodwill) payment made to civil servants following accidents at the work place or due to ill health from 2012 to 2015 stood at a high of RM148,750,683.70.

In an effort to check the rising amount, Cuepacs was willing to cooperate with heads of government agencies in setting up the OS&H committees. Bernama