– as Occupational Health and Safety month comes to an end
The Ministry of Labour’s Occupational Health and Safety department Friday conducted its final seminar on Occupational Health and Safety in the work environment, with saw-millers, timber dealers, and lumber yard owners/operators at the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre (Red House), Kingston.
The seminars were conducted across the country as part of Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) month activities to enlighten and educate employers and employees about the Laws of Guyana as they relate  to occupational health and safety.
Friday’s lecture saw presentations by Deputy Chief Labour Occupational Health and Safety Officer, Clive Nurse, on OH&S Act and an overview of the Holiday with Pay Act and Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act by Assistant Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle.
Nurse, providing an overview of the OH&S Act, said that occupational health and safety has been the thrust of the Ministry as a result of the OH&S Act being enacted in 1997.
“This Act provides for the registration and regulation of industrial establishment for occupational health and safety of persons at work,” Nurse said.
He pointed out that the Act is very comprehensive and that its obligations are wide. For example, under the Act, inspectors are empowered to conduct inspections at any time to ensure that employers are complying with OH&S laws.

The Deputy Chief Labour Officer noted that one of the requirements of employers is the need to keep accident registers.
He added that accidents that occur in the work environment should be recorded and reported to the Ministry within four days and that if there is a fatality it must be reported immediately.
As it relates to the number of employees in the workforce, Nurse told the gathering that whether there are five or 19 workers employed, there should be an Occupational Health and Safety representative elected from the staff to represent and ensure the worksite is safe and healthy for workers.
Beyond 19 and above, he pointed out that there must be a safety and health committee to police the work environment to ensure that safety and health protocols are observed within the workplace and to bring to management areas that they think should be addressed.
Meanwhile, Assistant Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, who briefed the representatives on the Holiday with Pay Act, noted that the Act deals specifically with annual /vacation leave, which was enacted in 1995.
He said the Act states that every worker employed is entitled to annual leave whether they are casual, part-time or working half a day, that person is entitled to leave with pay.
Ogle pointed out that for every month completed by a worker, he/she is entitled to one day’s leave.
“If an employee is employed to work on a daily basis for every 20 days he/she works, he is entitled to a day. If an employee is employed on an hourly basis (security or other category of workers), for every 160 hours worked, he/she would be entitled to a day,” Ogle stated.