Latest update January 6th, 2025 4:00 AM
Govt. agencies found to be biggest Occupational Safety and Health defaulters – Labour Minister
The Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton giving his address at the ceremony.
Kaieteur News – It has been revealed by the Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, that some of the worst Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) violations have been found in public sector entities during the rollout of the Ministry of Labour’s OSH campaign. Hamilton made the disclosure during the ceremonial launching of OSH month last Friday as he stressed how unbiased the campaign has been.
The campaign started over a month ago with the intent of ensuring maximum compliance to OSH regulations across all sectors in the ten administrative regions. It saw both private and public sector entities being placed under scrutiny and when compared, it was the public sector that accounted for the worst violations. “I have travelled through the length and breadth of this country along with my senior officers, and some of the worst violation of occupational safety and health I have seen is not the private sector it was public sector entities,” Hamilton lamented.
While delivering his speech, Hamilton asserted that “There is no sacred cow, the law is for everyone, so public sector entities cannot be exempt from being held accountable.” He noted that in some instances, when OSH officers visited some government ministries and agencies, violations of the OSH Act were found and officers had to go the extra mile to read the Act to senior ranking officials. They were “visiting and reading the OSH Act to permanent secretaries and heads of government agencies, that has to change and must change,” the Labour Minister stressed.
There was even an instance, the Minister recalled, whereby a visit was conducted at an unnamed government facility, and a “senior functionary” said that he would have preferred to be given a notice of the said visit.
Hamilton then outlined that labour officers are “people with statutory garments”, meaning that they have a right by law, to appear at any worksite and conduct their inspection, whether day or night. Furthermore, Hamilton said that he will hold them to doing their work.
The Labour Minister highlighted another instance where a visit was paid to a government facility where works were being done and the manager was not on site. Additionally, the workers on site were operating in an environment where “water and electricity is married”, meaning that they were exposed to possible electrocution.
Hamilton would have noted that the current OSH campaign will continue throughout the year and as OSH month is celebrated, keen attention will be paid to the construction and mining sector since most workplace accidents occur there.
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