Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton says that the seven recommendations made to BOSAI in the wake of the death of its employee are to prevent the recurrence of such incident as no one was found culpable for Neptrid Hercules’ death.
Hercules’ family told Stabroek News yesterday that they are expecting compensation over his death but are yet to be engaged.
The recommendations coming out of the Formal Investigation are as follows:
1) establish a sectoral coordinating group comprised of representatives of the Ministry of Labour, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a representative of the workers union;
2) promulgation of the regulations made under the Occupational Safety and Health Act;
3) BOSAI Minerals Group Guyana to establish a Health and Safety Committee for the reclamation dump construction;
4) install and maintain geotechnical engineering, ground and surface water hydrology capacity supported by the appropriate field and laboratory equipment;
5) prepare and submit the report required by Part 111 (13) (q) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act;
6) submit a document to stack or dump any waste product resulting from mining operations to Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) for approval;
7) prepare and submit an Environmental Management Plan and Contingency and Emergency Response Plan as required by the 2005 Mining Amendments;
8) commission and submit an updated Environmental Impact Assessment containing a description of best available technology and with a risk assessment and an Emergency Response Plan;
9) provide a report to the Ministry of Labour bearing the seal and the signature of a professional engineer addressing ground stability to ensure that a worker is not likely to be endangered and timelines for implementing the recommendations were given and BOSAI is required to adhere to them.
