Unreported workplace accidents remain high – Labour Officer

Aug 28, 2015 News

…at least 18 employers prosecuted so far

Although reporting accidents as they occur in work places is mandated by Law, officials at the Ministry of Social Protection have stated that employers in all sectors, including mining, have not been forthcoming with reports of accidents and fatalities though instances have remained high.

Officials of the Ministry of Social Protection in discussion with representatives from various media houses.

Resultantly, at least 18 employers have been charged and hauled before the courts this year for failing to file a report with the Labour Department of the Ministry of Social Protection on accidents that occurred in work places.
During a seminar held on Wednesday with the media, the Ministry revealed that it is seeking to take stronger, more drastic measures to punish employers who do not fulfill the responsibility.
“They have been lacking in keeping the mandate in the Law to report in a specified period of time. When they fail to report within that period of time given in the Act, we prosecute them,” Dexter Semple, a Labour and Occupational Safety and Health Officer told media operatives.
Employers are usually prosecuted in the lower courts (the Magistrates’ Court) and could be made to pay a fine of $50,000 or may be ordered to serve up to three months in prison for failing to report workplace accidents.
Asked by this newspaper if such a penalty suffices, the official said that the Ministry is currently reviewing the Law and will be pushing for amendments. “It will be reviewed very soon and changed to a greater fine and greater imprisonment time.”
“The occurrence of accidents is too great for us to continue along this path. We have to do something more drastic to employers out there to have them realise that persons’ lives are more important than their profits,” the Labour official expressed.
The Occupation Safety and Health Act was passed in 1997, and it speaks to the need for accidents to be reported.
The Law specifies that any accident arising out of and in the course of the employment of any worker occurs and causes the loss of the worker’s life, or disables the worker for more than one day, written notice of the accident must be forthcoming.
The Ministry started policing it in September 1999, the official explained, as he stated that prior to its enactment, in 1997, there was the Factories Act which delimited its reach to other areas.
In principle, every enterprise, engaged in production or service, has to report on its management of workplace safety and accidents that have taken place. However, many service establishments do not file reports under the impression that this requirement only applies to production enterprises, it was explained.
Semple commented that workplaces have not been adhering to the laws surrounding accidents in the workplace and each entity should have an internal committee set up to overlook health and safety. The committee must forward reports of practices obtained within their entities that protect workers.
The official explained that the Occupation Safety and Health Act encompasses all work places and pushed for the physical, mental and social well-being of workers across board. He expressed that a safe and comfortable workplace would not be one that suffers from absenteeism and other conditions that would negatively affect productivity.
According to the officials, the ideal workplace would entail having proper ventilation and lighting, clearly marked drinking water, lunch room, and suitable conveniences such as sinks and toilets. Workplaces, it was explained, must have first aid kits and for large entities (with approximately 100 workers) there must be a trained first aider on staff.
The number of working accidents has stayed high, with the mining sector having a number of fatalities. Recently, there have been several mining-related accidents resulting in fatalities and other serious injuries.
A significant number of these accidents occurred in cases where the walls of pits have collapsed.
The year of 2015 started out as a horrendous one for Guyana’s mining fraternity, with statistics showing that accidental deaths of gold miners already exceed the figures for the entire 2014. Statistics released by the Ministry early in the year show that the mining sector recorded 10 deaths for the year 2014, including two separate incidents of drowning at the same creek.
But that figure has already been topped this year, notwithstanding the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has set out several safety guidelines that mining operators are expected to adhere to. Whether they are enforced by the majority of operators is another matter entirely.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Presidency has begun to invite stakeholders in the mining industry as well as other concerned citizens to make contributions to an Inquiry into deadly mining accidents.