Four Draft ​prakas on Construction Safety Soon to Be Finalised

• 28 December 2018
• Local News
• 2258 Views

To promote and ensure work safety for the construction sector, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MLVT) is now drafting four Prakas which will be finalised soon.

Recently, Dr Han Nopakun, deputy director of the Department of Occupational Safety and Health of MLVT, told Construction&Property Magazine that the ministry is currently preparing four new Prakas, most of which focus on the obligations of construction companies.

These Prakas include: 1) high-rise construction work 2) construction equipment safety 3) shelter and 4) social services.

According to Dr Han Nopakun, the first draft Prakas related to the high-rise construction work means that construction companies need to provide safety equipment for construction workers when they are working on high-rise construction sites to avoid falling and to avoid equipment falling onto workers on the ground.

With the second Prakas related to personal protective equipment, Dr Han Nopakun said that this Prakas focuses on construction companies’ obligation in providing safety equipment to workers, which many companies do not want to spend money for.

“Most owners [companies] are not willing to spend on purchasing equipment for the workers because they have spent so much money already, so this Prakas will force all employers to understand the law and provide equipment for workers despite the high expenses of the equipment”, he said.

Regarding the Prakas on shelter, it refers to the need for having appropriate temporary shelter at construction sites for workers so they have a place to sleep and are not prone to accidents.

Meanwhile, the fourth Prakas on social services, requires every construction site to provide drinking water, hats for workers when working in hot places, separate toilets for male and female employees, and other social services like a place to read newspapers.

The four draft laws will be released soon, according to Dr Han Nopakun.

To date, the ministry has already issued four Prakas on the construction sector namely, sanitation at construction sites, risk prevention, information at construction sites, and storage and disposal on construction sites.

• Laws and Regulation