More emphasis will be placed on ensuring safer workplaces – Labour Minister

TIMES INT'L

Safety in the workplace is of extreme importance and the Labour Ministry has placed occupational health and safety high on its agenda of promoting decent work in all sectors.
This is according to Labour Minister, Dr Nanda Kishore Gopaul, who was at the time delivering remarks at the beginning of a week-long Occupational Safety and Health (OS&H) workshop for safety inspectors in the forestry and fisheries sectors.

Participants at the occupational safety and health workshop

The minister indicated that with the recent ratification of the Occupational Safety and Health Convention Number 155, greater emphasis will be placed on ensuring workplaces are safe.  The convention provides for the adoption of a coherent national occupational safety and health policy, as well as action to be taken by governments and within enterprises to promote occupational safety and health, and to improve working conditions.
The protocol calls for the establishment and the periodic review of requirements and procedures for the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases, and for the publication of related annual statistics.
“Guyana is moving ahead to ensure not only safety of workplaces, but maintenance of good and harmonious industrial relations practices,” he said.  He also pointed to the upsurge in mining activities in the country and noted that there was a recent fatal accident that reflected some degree of negligence and breach of safety procedures.
“As a consequence, greater emphasis will have to be placed on safety in the mining sector and a seminar designed for that sector will commence shortly,” he added.

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