In the wake of the death of a contracted linesman, Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) Chief Executive Officer Bharat Dindyal says that the utility company provides training for its contractor’s employees.
Dindyal yesterday told Stabroek News that it is company policy to ensure that all of its technical employees, as well as those of sub-contractors it utilises, are adequately trained to carry out their responsibilities.
Concern had been raised in recent weeks about whether the late Seon Scott, the 19-year-old Linesman from Limlair Village, Corentyne, Berbice was adequately trained. Scott sustained severe electrical burns after being struck by a live wire while conducting works in Bath Settlement, West Coast and succumbed last Wednesday in the Intensive Care Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital.
The man was placed on life support ever since he was taken to the hospital the week before.
Dindyal said that the employees go through different levels of training, which sees them becoming more and more competent as they progress.
He added that they are even issued certificates of competence as they progress as testament to their training. He did, however, say that he was currently unaware of any training that Scott would have received.
Dindyal stated that until the ongoing investigation into the matter is completed, much more cannot be said on the matter.
Subsequent to Scott’s death, National Association of Agricul-tural, Commercial and Industrial Employees’ General Secretary Kenneth Joseph said he suspected that it was most likely due to a lack of training. Joseph stated that many of the sub-contractors used by GPL employed persons who lacked the necessary training.
He said that because Scott’s employment was with the sub-contractor and not GPL, it diluted the union’s ability to ensure that these employees were represented since they were not unionised.
He also opined that the arrangement provided some amount of “wiggle room” in terms of not honouring aspects of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) of 1997.
According to Chapter 66 (1) of the Act, “in addition to providing information and instruction to a worker as required by section 46 (2) (a), an employer shall ensure that a worker exposed or likely to be exposed to a hazardous chemical or to a hazardous physical agent receives, and that the worker participates in, such instruction and training as may be prescribed.” This training is to be implemented by the employer with the guidance of the safety and health representatives and is to be done at least annually.
However, Minister of Labour Nanda Gopaul on Monday stated that the Act applies to GPL as well as any other entity it would have sub-contracted.
As a result, if either of the entities was guilty of not training its employees, it would be in violation of the OHSA.
Responding to these concerns, Dindyal maintained that GPL ensures that its employees and those of its sub-contractors are adequately trained.
