Occupational Safety and Health (Amendment) Act 2022 comes into force on June 1

CYBERJAYA: The Occupational Safety and Health (Amendment) Act 2022 will come into effect on June 1, thus further increasing the level of safety and health at workplaces nationwide, said Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong.

Sim said he had signed the gazette to speed up the implementation and enforcement of the act which had been delayed for almost two years.

“So within 100 days (at the helm of the ministry), I have signed the gazette for the new amendment to take effect,” he told reporters after officiating the World Day for Safety and Health celebration here yesterday.

The Occupational Safety and Health (amendment) Act 2022 was passed by Parliament on March 16 2022.

According to Sim, the enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (amendment) 2022 requires employers to analyze risks in the workplace and appoint a health safety coordinator.

“Companies with five or more employees must appoint a coordinator... the enforcement of this act is highly anticipated by the occupational health and safety practitioner sector.

“Coordinators are a new thing and with the presence of these trained people, we hope the workplace environment will be safer,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said a total of 13,000 workers will follow the Occupational Mental Health First Aid training programme throughout the country this year. He said, the programme has been well received and a total of 4,000 workers have been trained since it was launched in February this year.

“We hope that this effort will strengthen occupational safety and health practices in the workplace... mental health issues are also our focus at the ministry,” he said.

At yesterday’s ceremony, a total of 2,500 participants consisting of occupational safety and health practitioners (OKH) recited the integrity pledge and created a record as ‘The Largest Integrity Pledge by OSH Practitioners in Malaysia’ in the Malaysian Book of Records.