Labour Ministry, ILO host safety workshop for miners

Nov 28, 2012 News

Over a period of three days, the Ministry of Labour in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) will be advocating for a better understanding of the methods, rules and regulations governing the health and safety practices at workplaces. This will be done through a workshop which commenced yesterday at the Regency Hotel, Hadfield Street.
The workshop was officially declared open by Labour Minister, Dr. Nanda Gopaul who pointed out the importance of such a seminar. He highlighted that over the years the Government has enacted several pieces of legislation to ensure better treatment of workers by their employers and to improve Occupation Safety and Health practices.
Some of these include the Holidays with Pay and the Occupational Safety and Health Acts, which he opined, has shown Guyana’s commitment to safeguarding the rights of employees.
The Labour Ministry recently signed on to the I55 Occupational Safety and Health convention.
“Our laws are within the ambit of that convention. Our safety inspectors are also continuing their work of going out into the fields, as more emphasis is placed on mining and quarrying alike, and our interior locations have seen an influx not only by Guyanese but also foreigners,” the Minister said.
According to him, the seminar comes at a time when mining personnel can benefit effectively from expert training, even as efforts intensify to minimize the instances of accidents at workplaces.
Dr. Gopaul added that while it is not the aim of the Government to prosecute employers, laws have been implemented to ensure that workers’ rights are not trampled upon, and to ultimately ensure their safety.
“As such I challenge you to seek assistance from the Ministry, where necessary to ensure an accident-free workplace”.
It was also pointed out that in the past, Labour Officers were forced to take employers to court for non-payment and wrongful dismissal of workers, which was done with the aim of ensuring that employers observe the labour laws.
Meanwhile, Dr. Yuka Ujita, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) representative at the forum, in his remarks, noted the importance of mining to an economy and a nation’s development, and for that development to continue there must be safe workplaces.
Dr. Ujita encouraged the gathering to use the next few days to garner ways in which safety and health can be ramped up, especially in the mining sector.
“No country can effectively have a growing mining sector, unless there is a safe one, and as such, Guyana needs to look at ways in which a roadmap can be develop to improve safety in this regard.”
This seminar which is the first of its kind in the Caribbean and Latin America, also attracted participants from Suriname, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and other mining organizations.
Photo saved in Wednesday as Participants
Caption: A section of the participants at the workshop

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Labour Ministry, ILO host safety workshop for miners

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