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Workers urged to be more proactive with health and safety
As Guyana prepares to observe the World Day for Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), workers have
Francis Carryl, Consultant to the Ministry of Labour
been urged to be more proactive when dealing with their health and safety, rather than leaving the responsibility solely with their employers.
The advice was given by Consultant to the Ministry of Labour, Francis Carryl who, during an event yesterday in the lead-up to OSH Day, emphasised that occupational safety and health should be everyone’s business.
During his remarks, Carryl said that maximum productivity can only be achieved if workers are safe and healthy. This includes a nutritional standpoint that needs to be expanded, he said.
According to Carryl, all employers should be able to foresee dangers before they occur. He said that once dangers have been foreseen, employers must ensure that these dangers are removed to prevent accidents from occurring.
However, he said, the responsibility does not lie only with employers but also with workers.
Carryl pointed out that oftentimes safety equipment and gear, such as safety boots and goggles, are viewed as impediments to work.
He said too that workers need to recognise that OSH did not simply stop in the workplace. He emphasised that workers need to be constantly vigilant outside of work because there, they are in contact with other persons who might not view OSH in the same manner. He added that “prevention will always be better than cure.”
Furthermore, Carryl said this year the Ministry of Labour will be focusing on amplifying its efforts to make OSH a permanent feature in the lives of Guyanese. “Occupational Safety and Health is supposed to become a common factor in our lives; we hope to place emphasis this year with joining with the ILO [International Labour Organisation].”
He said too, that the Ministry hopes to change the culture in Guyana to focus more on OSH.
According to Carryl, a number of conventions and recommendations were observed over the years to focus on OSH. However, he said, more is needed to be done.
“The gaps which are evident, are simply because many companies fail to recognise that we need to take Occupational Safety and Health from the regular, mundane places and place it in the boardroom where the critical decisions of any company are made,” he said. He explained that OSH must play a strategic role in every management function and all programmes must be planned with OSH in mind.
In fact, Carryl opined that OSH should first begin at home and then should be taken to the school level. “The formative years stay with us for the rest of our lives,” he said. He added that, like many persons, he learnt about OSH when he began working at the Ministry of Labour.
“I needed to have known that long before, so we need to begin the educational process in the living room, in the classroom before we take it to the boardroom so, when we get on the job, we will meet a well-structured and well-crafted policy that takes into consideration the safety of all,” Carryl said.
The Ministry of Labour plans on putting in place legislation to press forward with its national commitment, Carryl said. He revealed that currently, the Ministry is working on the regulations for the safe use of chemicals along with the regulations for manufacturing and construction. He said these regulations will play a role in forging a culture of safe work along with a healthy workforce.
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