The Georgetown Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) is urging that the workers who would be involved in the removal of asbestos material from buildings at the University of Guyana be warned about the danger the job entails and that post-periodic checkups be part of the contractual obligation.
The removal of asbestos process is expected to commence on July 1 and conclude by the end of August.
In a release, the chambers noted that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has stated that asbestos is the world’s biggest industrial killer. The ILO is touting a global ban on the use of the material and it hopes that at least 100 countries in the coming ten years will eliminate future asbestos use.
Because of the danger the material poses to one’s health, the GCCI is asking the key stakeholders to inform the workers of all of the health risk factors they may be exposed to and that the safety health polices should be clearly communicated to the workers and their families.
Further, the GCCI is urging that the workers be given the appropriate personal protective equipment in keeping with the Occupational Safety and Health Act No. 32 of 1997. It said that the protection of the safety and health of the workers is a direct corporate social responsibility of the key stakeholders and it is the social responsibility of the media and other civil society organisations as well as the chambers.
