Improving occupational safety and health (OSH) enforcement among employers in manufacturing sector in Kelantan

Abstract

Compliance to occupational safety and health (OSH) laws in Malaysia is enforced by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), Ministry of Human Resource. The acts involved are the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA) and the Factory and Machinery Act 1967 (FMA). Actions were taken against employers who breached the laws are either persuasive or punitive. From the statistics, it is clear that the OSH enforcement officers use more persuasive strategy compared to a punitive strategy, which leads to enforcement deficit. The objective of the study is to study the factors hindering OSH enforcement officers towards imposing punitive action against errant employers. The study used questionnaires developed after a thorough literature review on enforcement factors. The questionnaires were distributed to the selected population, i.e. DOSH Kelantan's officers. The data was analysed using SPSS version 25 software. The study shows that knowledge, understanding and expertise of OSH officers in investigation and preparation of IP followed by officers' attitude towards the preparation of IP and the availability of records, database, procedures and equipment are the prominent factors that have to be taken care of to improve OSH enforcement in Kelantan.