Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton announced on Thursday that the government has taken a significant step towards strengthening legislation governing the sector by seeking technical assistance from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
He noted that they are currently reviewing aspects of the legislation and new recommendations made to strengthen the act.
“We have moved to a place where we have made a request to the ILO to give us technical assistance… in OSH [occupational safety and health] or labour and that is to be discussed. In Guyana’s case some of the recommendations are having stiff penalties going forward…” Hamilton said as he responded to questions from Stabroek News at the conclusion of the 12th CARICOM Ministers of Labour Conference held at the Guyana Marriott.
This newspaper asked whether there are recommendations from the ILO to strengthen Guyana’s labour laws as there is a concern that employers are not effectively prosecuted in the event of workplace death nor are families properly compensated.
Director of the ILO’s Caribbean Office, Dennis Zulu, noted that they “continue to work the management, the PS [Permanent Secretary], the Chief Labour Officer, to see how we can continue to improve the ministry’s capacity to protect jobs and safety.”
However, he was quick to note that they are utilizing the international frameworks established by the ILO to provide support to countries. Zulu explained that while they are using the labour conventions to guide countries in their legislation, it is a collective responsibility between employers and employees to ensure there is a safe working environment.
Meanwhile Hamilton noted that since he became minister, every case of workplace death has been fully investigated and recommendations were made to companies.
“Once that would have come to our attention, there is no one that can say the Ministry of Labour has defended or refused to investigate any workplace disaster,” he said.
Guyana has experienced dozens of workplace deaths over the years, most notably in recent months the death of 59-year-old Neptrid Hercules, who was employed by BOSAI Minerals Group Guyana, Linden, Upper Demerara River and Cindy Jattan, an employee of the Gafoors Hardware Store in 2022.
Policies
At the conclusion of the ministerial meeting, it was disclosed that the participating countries agreed to develop a policy that would address labour migration, social justice, re-engineering the education system, and protection of workers.
They stated that the policy which is being worked on by the technical officers aims to encapsulate workers employed within the region who will enjoy benefits local employees have access to.
Expanding on the effort to fortify the labour migration policy within Caricom, Zulu said they are looking to have labour standards in place for the protection of not only workers’ rights, but to ensure that employees working in foreign countries have balanced representation and relationships.
He stressed that they are working with governments to put a policy framework in place to address areas where they are skills-deficient and the facilitation of skills from one country in the Caribbean to another.
The policy he said will also identify areas where they can tailor programmes for skills enhancement to meet job demands.
“So not only are we looking at the true progressive point on policies but also [we are] looking at how we are going to have to supply and respond to the labour market,” he added.
Zulu went on to state that they are working with territories to develop both friendly workable polices and legislation to ensure workers’ rights are protected.
“When you work… you should be able to enjoy your civil rights in terms of your pension, safety and health, and job benefits,” the Caribbean Director added.
Hamilton said that in their discussions they have also underscored the importance of skills development, which forms a resolution in their outcome document. The minister stated that the new policies will look at means and ways in which they can meet the demands of the job market and not have one sector being saturated with specific skills.
“We have a document that we have agreed upon. But generally, this is just the beginning of our collaboration and cooperation. Importantly, we have instructed that our technical teams coordinate amongst themselves to develop whatever strategies, programmes, and plans that we at the level of policy government would want to initiate in the Caribbean, whether all the nations together or bilaterally… So, at the next Caribbean Ministers of Labour meeting, we can pay attention to what we have achieved and what is still languishing,” Hamilton said.
