It said that records show that many construction workers suffered falls or were struck by objects, and most of the accidents involved an unsafe environment, vehicles or related equipment.

At a press conference today, deputy human resources minister Awang Hashim said of the 32,674 general occupational incidents reported last year, 312 involved deaths.

He said there was a reduction of 45% in deaths last year – or 2.09 deaths per 100,000 workers compared to 3.83 in 2019.

Awang said some of the factors contributing to the lower number of accidents and fatalities in the workplace were the restrictions brought by the movement control order, the reduced workforce and court action against those flouting occupational safety laws.

Overall, Awang said the country’s accidents at the workplace dropped by 20% last year compared with 2019, with the manufacturing sector reporting the highest number of incidents (10,303 cases).

The service sector recorded 8,008 cases, followed by construction (3,958 cases), and wholesale and retail trade (3,429 cases).

However, Awang said there was a five-fold increase in the number of diseases and poisoning cases recorded at the workplace over the past decade, with 9,108 cases in 2020 alone.

He said the marked rise could be due to more diagnoses done by occupational safety doctors. There are now 1,080 such doctors, compared to only 483 in 2010.

“A total of RM2.99 million in fines have been meted out in 232 cases filed in court against those who flouted occupational safety laws.

“We also served compound fine notices amounting to RM1.9 million on 583 companies,” he said.

Separately, chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said all states generally recorded lower occupational accident rates last year.

However, he said six states recorded higher than the national average per 1,000 workers – Johor (3.44), Perak (3.32), Penang (3.25), Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (3.14), Negeri Sembilan (3.08) and Melaka (2.74).

Sabah, Labuan and Kelantan recorded the lowest occupational accident cases at 0.44, 0.65 and 0.76 respectively.

As for deaths, Johor had the most with 3.66 per 100,000 employees, followed by Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (3.07), Sarawak (2.85), Pahang (2.79) and Penang (2.40). Perlis and Labuan did not record any deaths in 2020.

Most of the accidents involved local workers (85%), while the rest were foreign workers, he said.