–Nadir warns Barama after worker’s death
Minister of Labour Manzoor Nadir said companies that violate the Labour Occupational Safety and Health guidelines will face stiff penalties, when he met with Barama Company officials at its Buck Hall location following the death of a 19-year-old worker.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release, Jason Fraser’s remains were found inside a chipper machine at Barama’s Essequibo location.
Nadir said companies must conform to the protocols of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) which covers decent work, workers’ rights on the job, communication among workers and management, non employment of children for labour and dangerous types of work that would affect the health of persons. “It is the Ministry of Labour’s mandate to protect every worker in the country,” he said.
According to GINA, the investigations started as a result of the number of deaths and accidents that occurred within the company over the past five years, as well as other fatalities that occurred during that period. At Wednesday’s session Barama’s safety protocols were listed and the officials visited the site of the accident.
Nadir was heartened by the company’s commitment to cease its operations and review all aspects of it including the plants and the forest operations though he also noted that the ministry “is very concerned about the matter and will have to shoulder some of the blame, as it should have been more serious with Barama after its second fatality that occurred this year, this being the third accident for the year, both of which were breaches of safety protocols.”
He also said that government is not interested in closing down businesses, but it must put workers safety first as, “It is not going to be businesses at the expense of our people’s lives.” Nadir said the ministry wants businesses to carry out operations in a safe and healthy work environment and within the confines of the country’s labour laws. “We will work with any company to achieve this objective,” he noted. He also told the meeting that the ILO will be sending a specialist on accident investigations to work along with local investigative team.
The minister said there have been 21 deaths this year which puts the country in the last four years as seeing a 400% increase in industrial deaths. “Every incident this year will be thoroughly investigated, as they can be used as lessons for positive changes for the protection of workers,” he said.
Additionally, Permanent Secretary at the ministry Trevor Thomas noted that companies who flout the rules should be sanctioned immediately, as it will teach them a lesson, as well as, set an example for others to follow.
Meanwhile, Barama’s Chief Executive Officer Clement Ooi noted that he and his staff will cooperate fully and ensure a thorough investigation is done He said the company has always been responsible since its 1991 start and it encourages safety practice in the workers’ daily operations.
Ooi also said Barama will be implementing three key protocols to improve workers’ safety: a critical review and enhancement of all the safety programmes in all the company’s operations; closing all manufacturing operations to facilitate intensive reinforcement safety and training programmes and engaging in regular communication sessions with all the relevant ministries to ensure operations are reviewed and that they comply with regulations.
As regard safety documentation, Head of Corporate Affairs and Forest Planning Mohindra Chand noted that daily safety briefings are usually done by the production managers before operations start, however they were not documented.
He added that workers are removed from the work site if they do not adhere to the safety rules.
