Labour Ministry forms new body to monitor workplace safety
A new National Committee on Occupational Safety and Health established under a sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on November 21 will advise the government on all work-place safety issues – but excludes transportation accidents, which one observer said make up the majority of work-related injuries in the country. The committee will have a total of 40 members, of which 20 will come from the government, 10 from unions and 10 from employers, Ministry of Labour spokesman Heng Sour said on November 22. “The committee is an ad-hoc committee to advise and give recommendations to the Minister of Labour,” he said, adding that it will only look at work-related injuries that happen on employers’ campuses. But despite a persistent toll of multiple-injury garment truck crashes, the committee won’t look at transportation accidents because there are other committees working on the issue, which is also covered by National Social Security Fund, Sour said. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport is developing a set of standards for worker transport, he added.
