Studies on the rate of occupational accidents among workers in the wooden furniture industry is sparse,
although the industry is deemed to be highly accident prone. Therefore, the rate of occupational accidents
among workers in the wooden furniture industry in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam were
studied, in 240 furniture manufacturing factories, using a structured questionnaire. The findings of the
study suggest that contract workers are less prone to occupational accidents compared to their permanent
counterparts, and hence, are more productive. Further, the results also revealed that the contract
workers have a more positive attitude towards the work, and hence, pick up the essentials of safe working
practices quickly. It must therefore be recognized that the ‘‘production oriented mentality’’ prevalent
in the wooden furniture industry, which has been argued to compromise occupational safety and health
standards in the industry may be debatable. In this context, it is essential for the policy makers to reexamine
the employment of contract workers for the furniture manufacturing industry, as changing
the psycho-economic parameters of the industry may be warranted before the industry is deemed attractive
to a permanent workforce.