Safety and health at work Supplement

More specialised training being pursued for occupational health, safety inspectors

AS part of ongoing efforts to address workplace accidents and improve safety in the work environment, Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton said more investments are being made to ensure that persons are trained and workplaces are secure.

During a press conference earlier this year, Hamilton reflected on the strides the government ministry has made since the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government assumed office.

“…Over a three-year period, we have moved from 32 deaths in that year, at least and now 20 deaths [in 2023] that should not have happened…,” the minister said.

Hamilton stated that despite inheriting a neglected ministry from the APNU+AFC, he has assiduously pursued a path of resuscitating it. “So the Occupational Safety and Health Department is a work in progress,” he said.

With the bulk of workplace fatalities occurring in the construction and mining sectors, it was stated that of the 20 deaths in 2023, nine were in the mining sector and six in the construction sector. The mining sector

accidents occurred in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

With that said, Hamilton said that much attention is being placed on the two aforementioned sectors.

The remaining five fatalities occurred in the sectors of logging, security, vehicular and vulcanisation.

Hamilton related: “The big issue here is every death is a person…I don’t treat these as statistics and we

are doing everything possible to ensure that this can be reduced to zero.”

Moreover, he stated that the Ministry of Labour will be collaborating with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Guyana Gold Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), and the Ministry of Health to create a unique training programme aimed at giving miners First Aid Train-

ing, owing to the concerning amount of deadly accidents in the mining sector.

MORE TRAINING

According to the Labour Minister, 950 workplace inspections were carried out and this benefitted over 8,000 workers. With safety playing an important role in national development, he also boasted that the ministry has been partnering with the pri -

vate sector to educate employers and employees on proper health and safety.

“So when I’m speaking about our health and safety, I’m talking about the full spectrum [of] training for [the] oil and gas sector. We [have] engaged 11 companies [and] 250 persons were beneficiaries to training that we offer free of cost,” he said, while reflecting on the accomplishments of the ministry in 2023.

When questioned by the Guyana Chronicle if the ministry will be providing better training to produce more competent Occupational Safety and Health (OSHIs) Inspectors, Hamilton said that plans are being rolled out to tackle this issue, despite the obstacles.

“… We have to continue to train. But the point is as I’ve said you have to recognise the importance of this area in our national development, the protection and safety of workers, we have not given give it attention that we have given so many other professions and we have to encourage people…” he said.

Aiming to bring more recognition to the profession of OSH, in order to enhance the human- resource capability, Hamilton said that the culture within Guyana of not recognising this field needs to change.

“We’re coming from a position as Guyanese, where occupational safety and health officer is not even a profession. We have to make this [a] profession. A noble profession like all the others we have made,” the minister said.

Collective action necessary for improvement, advancement of occupational safety, health

IN a fervent call to action, Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton, emphasised the critical importance of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) for all Guyanese citizens during the Ministry of Labour’s mini–OSH Exhibition and Demonstration held recently at the ministry’s forecourt at Brickdam, Georgetown.

“We need to start seeing Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) as everybody’s business,”

Minister Hamilton. During the programme, stakeholders from the Ministry’s OSH Department showcased demonstrations and shared their insights, actively engaging attendees in their mission to promote safe and healthy work environments in Guyana.

Minister Hamilton in his brief remarks boldly stated, “We have to start seeing Occupational Safety and Health as everybody’s business. It is not just a

conversation for employers and employees; this has to be a national conversation, because the problem we have is a national problem, that all of us, we have to try together to fix.”

The minister emphasised the importance of addressing this matter in homes too in order to extend the scope of occupational safety and health beyond the workplace. Minister Hamilton also mentioned that his ministry is actively working on ex-

panding the discussion on OSH to include a dedicated communication and public relations initiative that focuses on bringing OSH awareness to households.

“Health and safety are national matters. It must be in our national consciousness as Guyanese. And normally I’d say this and I’ll repeat: we have two options as Guyanese; one, we go along our merry way thinking that this is a matter that’s not so important, or, we change and recognise that we have to adopt a different attitude to this matter.”

“If we choose the former, and don’t respond, I can assure you that we need to prepare to attend a lot of wake houses, play dominoes and cards and bury people the next day, if we don’t change as a nation,” he said.

The minister encouraged the audience to embrace the teachings of OSH and become its followers. He remarked, “For me, death at workplaces are not statistics; they are people.”

“It’s not a statistics game as to more than and less than death. These are people whose family will grieve and mourn. Communities will grieve and mourn. Workplaces will grieve and mourn. And for the employers, it affects your business in all respects:

production, productivity, bad name to your business.

And no more, employers must believe that this is an expense they cannot bear. Failure to bear this expense, you will have greater expense to deal with when people die, or lose limbs or are incapacitated at workplaces,” he noted.

“If we don’t take cognizance of safety and health, more people will die. It’s a simple equation. The more roads we build, the more infrastructure; we expand. If we don’t take precautions, more people will die.”

Among the attendees at the mini exhibition were various stakeholders in OSH such as the Ministry of Public Works, the Guyana Fire Service, ExxonMobil-Guyana, Guyana Forestry Commission, and Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), among others.

Additionally, the minister encouraged Guyanese citizens to participate in the annual OSH walk, scheduled for this Sunday. To stay informed, individuals who are interested can visit the Ministry of Labour’s Facebook page. The theme for OSH Month is, “Ensuring safe and healthy work now in a changing climate: We are running out of time.”

Safety and Health first!

Several acttivities were held accross the country to commemorate Occupational Safety and Health Month. (Ministry of Labout photos)