Workplace safety incidents have been an issue in Guyana for a number of years, a consequence of employers and employees not following safety guidelines, but the burden of responsibility mostly rests on employers who, in the pursuit of profits, do so at the expense of the health and safety of their workers.
The data on the number of fatalities and injuries at work support this. The Labour and Occupational Safety and Health Department, which has responsibility for workplace safety, recently disclosed that a total of 3,037 workplace accidents were reported for the period 2011 to 2015; 71 of these cases were fatalities.
It appears from the data that construction and mining companies, particularly, have failed to pursue the safety and well-being of their employees, resulting in a number of fatalities. The recent Commission of Inquiry into mining deaths, for example, reported that over the last 15 months, there had been 28 deaths, most coming from pitfall cave-ins. The prevailing culture seems to be this: employ a worker, pass on the task, and permit them to work without establishing an environment that promotes safety each and every week.
Given the data, one would assume that those with responsibility for workplace health and safety would have been scurrying to address the issue, but we have seen few signs of this.
For a Minister with as important a portfolio as the health and safety of the nation’s workers, Minister Keith Scott has been operating with a very low visibility. Indeed, at the time of writing, the website of the Guyana Parliament records that this Minister has so far delivered eight speeches in Parliament but has tabled no motions and has asked no questions. These statistics seem symptomatic of his general performance within the wider framework of Social Protection, and point to a failing effort in advancing workers’ rights and enforcing the laws that are intended to protect workers while on the job.
Some may argue that the issues that plague the sector find their origins during the administration of the previous government, but surely the current administration has had enough time to signal their intention by word and deed to restore the faith of employees by ensuring employers’ compliance with the laws relating specifically to workplace health and safety, and general social protection matters.
To the average citizen, 245 workplace accidents in one year are not only troubling, but when compared to the cumulative total of 3,037 workplace accidents in the period cited above point to a blatant disregard for worker’s safety by employers and an abdication of their responsibilities by the Ministers responsible for maintaining an acceptable standard of workplace safety and health in the country.
Perhaps Minister Scott could apprise the nation of what efforts he has made since taking over the labour portfolio in January this year to enforce the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 2007. If he does so in Parliament, it can even favourably impact his unimpressive statistics on his participation in parliamentary matters.
Stakeholders in the sector including former Chairman of the National Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) Dale Beresford, have repeatedly emphasised the need for government to ensure that safety and health standards are not being compromised by lax employers, or those implementing cost-cutting measures which put workers at risk.
As noted by Mr Beresford, while the law states that every organization with over a certain number of employees in Guyana should have a joint safety and health committee, the majority do not.
The OSHA Act, Section 23. (1), specifically states that a joint workplace safety and health committee is required at a workplace at which twenty or more workers are regularly employed, yet, only recently a labour official who spoke with the Stabroek News on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the Labour Department was targeting only 62 companies that have reported workplace accidents in the past to have committees set up in the instances where they are absent. We hope that this is extended to other employers who are also operating outside of the law, but may not yet have had a reported incident.
Moreover, this government has a responsibility to educate workers about their rights and to promote a better understanding of the labour laws and practices in Guyana. We believe that Minister Scott is failing to garner employee trust and confidence, as he has developed the unfortunate reputation ‒ at least in the case of the bauxite workers ‒ of sitting down and meeting with employers in the absence of employee union representatives.
Interestingly, Minister Scott (and also Minister Volda Lawrence) is often unavailable to speak with the press on a number of labour matters, and efforts to solicit a comment are usually futile. The default person on these matters, at the time, appears to be Chief Labour Officer Charles Ogle.
There is definitely a need for improved working conditions and labour relations for the various classes of workers in this country, and efforts to effect same will require that both Ministers Scott and Lawrence emerge from the shadows, and press for greater compliance with the OSHA Act from employers. The Ministers must also educate themselves on the applicable laws that exist in Guyana and internationally accepted norms regarding OSH matters.
Finally, the ministers must, as a priority, educate, inform, monitor and control the employers who are in breach of OSH matters. All workers in Guyana have the same workplace rights and it is the responsibility of the government through its line ministers and officers to ensure that our workers are knowledgeable about, and exercise their labour rights in a safe workplace environment, and that the workers’ unions are not kept out of the loop, but are allowed to play their role.