GEORGE TOWN: Workplace sustainability must prioritise workers' safety, health and dignity, with stronger governance and accountability needed to prevent accidents and protect lives, said Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.
"There can be no truly sustainable workplace without sustainable people," said the Pertubuhan Ikatan Komuniti Selamat (Ikatan) chairman in a speech at Universiti Sains Malaysia's (USM) seminar on Building Safer and Healthier Workplaces.
Lee said workplace sustainability must go beyond environmental protection, energy conservation and technological advancement to include physical safety, mental well-being and work environments designed around human needs.
He said organisations could not claim to be sustainable if workers were exposed to excessive stress, fatigue, workplace injuries or poorly designed systems in the pursuit of productivity.
Speaking on governance in occupational safety and health (OSH) systems and workplace sustainability, Lee called for a shift from mere regulatory compliance to a strong culture of prevention, accountability and continuous improvement.
He said safety must be embedded in leadership, business decisions and corporate culture, rather than treated as an administrative requirement or the sole responsibility of safety officers.
"A safe workplace begins with good governance, and good governance begins with leadership and accountability," he said.
Lee urged employers and senior management to establish clear safety policies, allocate adequate resources, conduct effective risk assessments and regularly monitor workplace safety performance.
Workers closest to workplace hazards often understood the risks better than anyone else, he said, adding that those who raised safety concerns should be regarded as safety partners rather than troublemakers.
Lee further called on organisations to investigate accidents by examining systemic failures instead of simply blaming individuals.
"Investigations should assess factors such as inadequate training, unsuitable equipment, fatigue, unclear instructions, poor supervision and production pressures to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
"Greater use of preventive indicators, including hazard reports, ergonomic assessments, safety inspections, training effectiveness and psychosocial risk assessments is needed, rather than relying solely on accident statistics," he added.
Lee identified five pillars of effective safety governance which are leadership, human-centred design, worker participation, data-driven learning and continuous improvement.
He also warned that unethical and corrupt practices could undermine workplace safety, citing substandard protective equipment, falsified records, circumvention of standard operating procedures and conflicts of interest in awarding contracts.
"Integrity, transparency and accountability are essential to ensuring workers received adequate protection and organisations fulfilled their responsibilities," he said.
Referring to Malaysia's Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994, as amended, Lee said legal compliance was important but organisations must go further by identifying risks early and strengthening preventive measures.
As workplaces increasingly adopt artificial intelligence, automation and digitalisation, he said, technology must serve people rather than compromise their well-being.
"The future of workplace safety cannot simply be about preventing accidents. It must be about designing workplaces where people can work safely, remain healthy, maintain their dignity and continue contributing throughout their working lives," he said.
Lee added that sustainable workplaces required a human-centred approach that placed workers' welfare at the heart of organisational decision-making.
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