Osha Notes Part III

PART II: APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS The Minister shall appoint a public officer to be the Director General of Occupational Safety and Health, in this Act referred to as the "Director General", for the purpose of exercising the powers, performing the functions and discharging the duties assigned to him under this Act. The Minister may appoint, from among public officers, such numbers of Deputy Directors General, Directors, Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors and other occupational safety and health officers as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act. If for any reason the Director General is unable to exercise the powers or discharge the duties of his office, the power shall be had and may be exercised and the duties shall be discharged by the Deputy Director General. Subject to such limitations as may be prescribed by regulations made under Part XIV of this Act, an officer appointed under subsection (2) shall perform all the duties imposed, and may exercise all the powers conferred, upon the Director General under this Act, and every duty so performed and power so exercised shall be deemed to have been duly performed and exercised for the purposes of this Act. Appointment of independent inspecting body The Director General may, as he deems fit, appoint a person or an independent inspecting body from any of the industries to advise or assist him in carrying out the objects and purposes of this Act. A person or an independent inspecting body appointed under subsection (1) shall be paid such allowance, fee or reimbursement as the Minister may determine. An officer appointed under subsection 5(2) and a person or an independent inspecting body appointed under subsection (1), shall be subject to the control, direction and supervision of the Director General.The Director General and all officers appointed under subsection 5(2), and a person or an independent inspecting body appointed under subsection (1), shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of the Penal Code. Certificate of authorization The Director General shall issue to every officer appointed under this Act a certificate of authorization which shall be produced on demand to the occupier or any person in charge of a place of work which the officer intends to enter pursuant to this Act.In the case of the Director General, his certificate of authorization shall be issued by the Minister. PART III: NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH Establishment of the Council There shall be established a council called the "National Council for Occupational Safety and Health". Membership of the Council The Council shall consist of not less than twelve and Council not more than fifteen members who shall be appointed by the Minister, of whom (a) three persons shall be from organizations representing employers; (b) three persons shall be from organizations representing employees; (c) three or more persons shall be from Ministries or Departments whose responsibility is related to occupational safety and health; and (d) three or more persons, or whom at least one shall be a woman, shall be from organizations or professional bodies the activities of whose members are related to occupational safety and health and who, in the opinion of the Minister, are able to contribute to the work of the Council. The Minister shall appoint from among the persons mentioned in subsection (1) a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman of the Council.The provisions of the Second Schedule shall apply to the members of the Council. Powers and functions of the Council The council shall have power to do all things expedient or reasonably necessary for or incidental to the carrying out of the objects of this Act. The Council may, and when requested by the Minister to do so shall, carry out investigations and make reports and recommendations to him with regard to any matter relating to the objects of this Act and, in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions, with regard to (a) changes it considers desirable to occupational safety and health legislation; (b) the improvement of the administration and enforcement of occupational safety and health legislation; (c) the fostering of a co-operative consultative relationship between management and labour on the safety, health and welfare of persons at work; (d) the special problems with respect to occupational safety, health and welfare of women, handicapped persons and other groups in the community; (e) the establishment of adequate methods of control of industrial chemicals at a place of work; (f) the statistical analysis of occupationally related deaths and injuries; (g) the provision of health care facilities at a place of work; (h) the fostering of the development and adoption by law of industry codes of practice related to occupational safety, health and welfare; (i) the development of rehabilitation plans and facilities to assist persons injured at a place of work. Appointment of secretary to the Council. The Minister shall appoint a public officer from the office of the Director General to be the secretary to the Council.The Council may, with the approval of the Minister, arrange for the use of the services of any staff or facility of the office of the Director General. Committees The Council may (a) establish committees in respect of different industries for the purpose of assisting the Council to perform its functions in relation to industry codes of practice; and (b) establish such other committees as it thinks fit for the purpose of assisting the Council to perform its other functions. A committee shall consist of such number of persons as may be appointed by the Council from among its members. Notwithstanding the provision of subsection (2), the Council may invite any person or a representative of any organization to advise a committee established under subsection (1) in the carrying out of its functions.A person appointed under subsection (2) or invited to be a member of a committee under subsection (3) may be paid such allowance as may be determined by the Council with the approval of the Minister. Annual report. The Council shall, as soon as practicable, after the 30th June but before the 31st December of each year, prepare and forward to the Minister a report of its activities for a period of twelve months ending on the 30th June of each year. PART IV: GENERAL DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS AND SELF EMPLOYED PERSONS GENERAL DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS AND SELF-EMPLOYED PERSONS It shall be the duty of every employer and every self-employed person to ensure, so far as is practicable, the safety, health and welfare at work of all his employees. Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the matters to which the duty extends include in particular (a) the provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that are, so far as is practicable, safe and without risks to health; (b) the making of arrangements for ensuring, so far as is practicable, safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use or operation, handling, storage and transport of plant and substances; (c) the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is practicable, the safety and health at work of his employees; (d) so far as is practicable, as regards and place of work under the control of the employer or self-employed person, the maintenance of it in a condition that is safe and without risks to health and the provision and maintenance of the means of access to and egress from it that are safe and without such risks; (e) the provision and maintenance of a working environment for his employees that is, so far as is practicable, safe, without risks to health, and adequate as regards facilities for their welfare at work. For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2) (a) "employee" includes an independent contractor engaged by an employer or a self-employed person and any employee of the independent contractor; and (b) the duties of an employer or a self-employed person under subsections (1) and (2) extend to such an independent contractor and the independent contractor's employees in relation to matters over which the employer or self-employed person (i) has control; or (ii) would have had control but for any agreement between the employer or self-employed person and the independent contract or to the contrary. Duty of formulate safety and health policy. Except in such cases as may be prescribed, it shall be the duty of every employer and every selfemployed person to prepare and as often as may be appropriate revise a written statement of his general policy with respect to the safety and health at work of his employees and the organization and arrangements for the time being in force for carrying out that policy, and to bring the statement and any revision of it to the notice of all of his employees. General duties of employers and self-employed persons to persons other than their employees It shall be the duty of every employer and every self-employed person to conduct his undertaking in such a manner as to ensure, so far as is practicable, that he and other persons, not being his employees, who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their safety or health. It shall be the duty of every employer and every self-employed person, in the prescribed circumstances and in the prescribed manner, to give to persons, not being his employees, who may be affected by the manner which he conducts his undertaking, the prescribed information on such aspects of the manner in which he conducts his undertaking as might affect their safety or health. Duties of an occupier of a place of work to persons other than his employees An occupier of non-domestic premises which has been made available to persons, not being his employees, as a place of work, or as a place where they may use a plant or substance provided for their use there, shall take such measures as are practicable to ensure that the premises, all means of access thereto and egress therefrom available for use by persons using the premises, and any plant or substance in the premises or provided for use there, is or are safe and without risks to health. A person who has, by virtue of a contract or lease or otherwise, an obligation of any extent in relation to (a) the maintenance or repair of a place of work or any means of access thereto or egress therefrom; or (b) the prevention of risks to safety and health that may arise from the use of any plant or substance in the place of work, shall for the purpose of subsection (1) be deemed to have control of the matters to which his obligation extends. Penalty for an offence under section 15, 16, 17 or 18 A person who contravenes the provisions of section 15, 16, 17 or 18 shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both. PART V: GENERAL DUTIES OF DESIGNERS, MANUFACTURERS AND SUPPLIERS GENERAL DUTIES OF DESIGNERS, MANUFACTURERS AND SUPPLIERS It shall be the duty of a person who designs, manufactures, imports or supplies any plant for use at work (a) to ensure, so far as is practicable, that the plant is so designed and constructed as to be safe and without risks to health when properly used; (b) to carry out or arrange for the carrying out of such testing and examination as may be necessary for the performance of the duty imposed on him by paragraph (a); and (c) to take such steps as are necessary to secure that there will be available in connection with the use of the plant at work adequate information about the use for which it is designed and has been tested, and about any condition necessary to ensure that, when put to that use, it will be safe and without risks to health. It shall be the duty of a person who undertakes the design or manufacture of any plant for use at work to carry out or arrange for the carrying out of any necessary research with a view to the discovery and, so far as is practicable, the elimination or minimization of any risk to safety or health to which the design or plant may give rise. It shall be the duty of a person who erects or installs any plant for use by persons at work to ensure, so far as is practicable, that nothing about the way in which it is erected or installed makes it unsafe or a risk to health when properly used. General duties of manufacturers, etc. as regards substances for use at work It shall be the duty of a person who formulates, manufactures, imports or supplies any substance for use at work (a) to ensure, so far as is practicable, that the substance is safe and without risks to health when properly used; (b) to carry out or arrange for the carrying out of such testing and examination as may be necessary for the performance of the duty imposed on him by paragraph (a); and (c) to take such steps as are necessary to ensure that there will be available in connection with the use of the substance at work adequate information about the results of any relevant test which has been carried out on or in connection with the substance and about any condition necessary to ensure that it will be safe and without risks to health when properly used. It shall be the duty of a person which undertakes the manufacture or supply of any substance for use at work to carry out or arrange for the carrying out of any necessary research with a view to the discovery and, so far as is practicable, the elimination or minimization of any risk to safety or health to which the substance may give rise. Nothing in section 20 and 21 shall be taken to require a person to repeat any testing, examination or research which has been carried out otherwise than by him or at his instance, in so far as it is reasonable for him to rely on the results thereof for the purposes of the section. Any duty imposed on a person by any of the preceding provisions of this Part shall extend only to things done in the course of a trade, business or other undertaking carried on by him, whether for profit or not, and to matters within his control. Where a person designs, formulates, manufactures, imports or supplies any plant or substance for or to another on the basis of a written undertaking by that other to take specified steps sufficient to ensure, so far as is practicable, that the plant or substance will be safe and without risks to health when properly used, the undertaking shall have the effect of relieving the first-mentioned person from the duty imposed by paragraphs 20 (1)(a) and 21(1)(a) to such extent as is reasonable having regard to the terms of the undertaking. Where a person (hereinafter referred to as the "ostensible supplier") supplies any plant or substance for use at work to another (hereinafter referred to as the "customer") under a hirepurchase agreement, conditional sale agreement or credit-sale agreement, and the ostensible supplier (a) carries on the business of financing the acquisition of goods by others by means of such agreements; and (b) in the course of that business acquired his interest in the plant or substance supplied to the customer as a means of financing its acquisition by the customer from a third person (hereinafter referred to as the "effective supplier"), the effective supplier and not the ostensible supplier shall be treated for the purposes of this Part as supplying the plant or substance to the customer, and any duty imposed by sections 20 and 21 on suppliers shall accordingly fall on the effective supplier and not on the ostensible supplier. For the purposes of this Part a plant or substance is not to be regarded as properly used where it is used without regard to any relevant information or advice relating to its use which has been made available by a person by whom it was designed, manufactured, imported or supplied. Penalty for an offence under section 20 or 21 A person who contravenes the provisions of section 20 or 21 shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.