Dear Editor,
The death of 17-year-old Caricom Rice Mills employee Threeion Gittens was caused by the failure of the company to fix the rotten bulk tank which stored tonnes of paddy.
In my tenure as the union representative for workers at a rice mill, there was a vibrant workers and management health and safety committee, which used to meet once a month to report on hazardous and dangerous working conditions, as countless smaller tragedies routinely get shoved under the rug by supervisors. I would advise workers, if the hazards are not fixed after the meeting, they should refuse orders from management or the supervisors and do not risk their lives.
If there had been regular inspections of those tanks and bins which are used to store paddy, the work safety inspectors would have been able to identify the hazard and prevent the death of Threeion and many more accidents in rice mills. In the past when all the paddy is being milled or processed, the operation will be shut down and maintenance will take place to deal with the hazards. The onus is on the company to prevent accidents and to train its supervisors and remind them how to do their job correctly to prevent unnecessary injuries at the work site.
Accidents can occur when management fails to take corrective measures to fix a problem which has existed over a long period like that iron bin full of field paddy that came crumbling down and buried Threeion and injured others on the job. I was really surprised that the security guards who were on duty prevented villagers from nearby villages from entering the compound to assist in this accident. Before the divestment of this complex, whenever there was a disaster involving fire or a serious accident, when the siren was blown, people were allowed to enter the compound to assist, and they helped in a tangible way by saving millions of dollars worth in buildings and machinery.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Khan