Contractors responsible for the ongoing construction of the City Food Court at Camp and Robb streets, where a worksite accident on December 2 left four workers injured, could face sanctions for failing to formally report the incident to the Ministry of Labour as required under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Little has been heard of any official investigation into the accident reportedly resulting from the collapse of a temporary structure on which the workers were standing. However, Stabroek Business has been reliably informed that the matter came up at a recent meeting of the National Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH). There, a strong recommendation was made that the charge that the contractors failed to report the accident be thoroughly investigated and action taken in the event of delinquency.
The Ministry of Labour is among a number of state agencies represented on NACOSH which also has private sector and trade union representation.
Stabroek Business has learnt that an investigation into what is, in effect, an alleged procedural delinquency on the part of the contractors could lead to a wider, more serious probe of the accident itself to determine whether basic safety and health and other regulations might have been overlooked.
The City Food Court site accident and the call for an investigation coincides with wider, more serious concerns over what, even to the inexperienced eye, are dangerous practices on urban construction sites. These range from the indiscriminate disposal of builders’ waste to construction workers operating sites without adequate safety gear.
This newspaper understands that the recent NACOSH meeting also discussed the long-outstanding issue of the creation of an adequate regime of building regulations; a matter on which the authorities have been delinquent and to which builders have been indifferent.
When contacted this week, OSH professional Dale Beresford, a member of NACOSH who last week advocated to this newspaper that the Robb and Camp streets accident be investigated, said the circumstances may well help hasten legislation that will tighten regulations in the construction sector and, “perhaps more importantly,” ensure effective enforcement.
The urban construction sector has also long been under critical public scrutiny over widespread allegations of bribes and kickbacks involving owners and state and municipal entities responsible for granting the various forms of permission associated with construction.
Stabroek Business understands that construction sector safety regulations which are expected to be prepared and sent to the National Assembly in a phased manner will cover, among other things safety responsibilities as these apply to personal protection, the creation of a safe, interactive work regime as well as protection of the public and the environment.
Specifically, issues of personal safety are expected to address appropriate personal protective equipment, correctly selected and fitted and made ready for use as well as demonstrations of proper use of safety gear. Additionally, new regulations, when they come into force are expected to cover tools and equipment which must be selected in a manner consistent with safe work practice requirements and checked for faults and serviceability.
