PUTRAJAYA: A total of RM718mil in compensation was disbursed for work-related incidents by the Social Security Organisation (Socso) as of June this year, says Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.
He added that total compensation in 2023 exceeded RM1.39bil under the Employment Injury Scheme for work-related incidents.
As of June this year, there were 41,278 accident cases reported to Socso, with over half involving industrial accidents and the rest related to commuting, he added.
“Tragically, 515 of these accidents were fatal. Specifically, 31.7% (163 deaths) were due to industrial accidents and 68.3% (352 deaths) were related to commuting,” he said, during his speech at the launching of the Conference on Asia Road Safety (Cars) 2024) at Putrajaya International Convention Centre here on Monday (Sept 2).
Sim said his ministry and Socso were committed to ensuring the safety of about 10 million workers in Malaysia sp that workers may return safely to their families and loved ones.
“We have organised various programmes, including more than 500 road accident prevention programmes to date, involving 2,000 employers and 20,000 employees annually,” he said.
Also present at the launching of the conference were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also the Malaysian Cabinet Committee on Road Safety and Traffic Congestion chairman, and Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
The two-day conference gathered over 1,000 road safety experts to discuss critical issues regarding road safety and sustainable mobility.