PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO INSPECTIONS, ETC
THE ACT empowers the OSH Officer to periodically inspect workplaces to ensure that they are safe and healthy. Where an inspector makes an inspection of a workplace, the employer shall afford a committee member representing workers or a safety and health representative, if any, or a worker selected by a trade union or trade unions, if any, to represent it or them. Where there is no trade union, the workers can select one from among them to represent them. The workers’ representative is allowed to accompany the inspector during his physical inspection of the workplace, or any part thereof. The Act, in part, says:
27. (2):     Where there is no committee member representing workers, no safety and health representative or worker selected under Subsection (2), the inspector shall endeavour to consult during his physical inspection with a reasonable number of the workers concerning matters of safety and health at their work.
27. (3):     The time spent by a committee member representing workers, a safety and health representative or a worker selected in accordance with Subsection (2) in accompanying an inspector during his physical inspection, shall be deemed to be work time of which he shall be paid by his employer at his regular or premium rate as may be proper.
Request for and inspections
28. (0): Subject to Section 23. (20), an inspector may in writing direct a safety representative or a member designated under Section 23. (18) to inspect the physical condition of the workplace or part thereof at specified intervals.

Seizure of documents or articles
An inspector has the power to seize documents or articles if such documents or articles produced to him contravene the Act. The provision is stated as hereunder:
29. (1): While acting under the authority of this Act, an inspector may, without a warrant or court order, seize any article or document that is produced to him or that is in plain view, if the inspector reasonably believes that this Act or a regulation has been contravened and that the article or document will afford evidence of the contravention.
29. (2): The inspector may remove the article or document is seized or may detain it in the place in which it is seized.
29. (3): The inspector shall inform the person from whom the article or document is seized as to the reason for the seizure and shall give the person a receipt for it; the person from whom the article or document is seized, shall, immediately on receiving information as to the reason for the seizure and the receipt of the article or document seized, bring such information and receipt to the attention of management.
29. (4): The inspector shall bring an article or document seized under the authority of this section before the Authority or, if that is not reasonably possible, shall report the seizure to the Authority.

Orders by inspectors for non-compliance
30. (1):      Where an inspector finds that a provision of this Act or the regulations is being contravened, the inspector may order, orally or in writing, the owner, employer, or person whom he or she believes to be in charge of a workplace or the person whom the inspector believes to be the contravener to comply with the provision and may require the order to be carried out forthwith or ¬within such period of time as the inspector specifies.
30. (2):     Where an inspector makes an oral order under Subsection (1), the inspector shall confirm the order in writing before leaving the workplace.
30. (3): An order made under Subsection (1) shall indicate generally the nature of the contravention and where appropriate the location of the contravention.
30. (4): An order made under Subsection (1) may require an employer to submit to the Authority a compliance plan prepared in the manner and including such items as required by the order.
30. (5): The compliance plan shall specify what the employer plans to do to comply with the order and when the employer intends to achieve compliance.
30. (6): Where an inspector makes an order under Subsection (1) and finds that the contravention of this Act or the regulations is a danger or hazard to the safety and health of a worker, the inspector may:
(a) Order that any place, equipment, machine, device, article or any process or chemical shall not be used until the order is complied with;
(b) Order that the work at the workplace as indicated in the order shall stop until the order to stop work is withdrawn or cancelled by an inspector after an inspection;
(c) Order that the workplace where the contravention exists be cleared of workers and isolated by barricades, fencing or any other means suitable to prevent access thereto by a worker until the danger or hazard to the safety or health of a worker is removed.
30. (7):     Despite Subsection (6) (b), an employer who gives notice to an inspector of compliance with an order made under Subsection (6) may resume work pending an inspection and decision by an inspector respecting compliance with the order if, before the resumption of work, a committee member representing workers or a safety and health representative, as the case may be, advises an inspector that in his opinion the order has been complied with.
30. (8): In addition to the orders that may be made under Subsection (6), where an inspector makes an order under Subsection (1) for a contravention of Section 62 or 65 or the Authority has been advised of an employer’s inability to obtain an unexpired chemical safety data sheet, the inspector may order that the hazardous chemical shall not be used or that the article that causes, emits or produces the hazardous physical agent not to be used or operated until the order is withdrawn or cancelled.
30. (9): Where an inspector makes an order under this section, he may affix to the workplace, or to any equipment, machine, device or article a copy thereof or a notice in the prescribed form and no person, except an inspector, shall remove such copy or notice unless authorized to do so by an inspector.
30. (10): Where an inspector makes an order in writing or issues a report of his inspection to an owner, employer or person in charge of the workplace, the owner, employer or person in charge of the workplace shall forthwith cause a copy or copies thereof to be posted in a conspicuous place or places at the workplace where it is most likely to come to be attention of the workers and shall furnish a copy of such order or report to the safety and health representative or the committee, if any, and the inspector shall cause a copy thereof to be furnished to a person who has complained of a contravention of this Act or the regulations.
30. (11): An inspector shall hold or afford to an owner, employer or any other person an opportunity for a hearing before making an order.
30. (12): Notwithstanding the requirements specified in this section with regard to an order of an inspector, where an inspector has reason to believe that a person has committed an offence against this Act or the regulations, he may give that person a notice offering him the opportunity to discharge any liability to conviction for that offence by payment to the Authority of a sum of money which amounts to two-thirds of the minimum prescribed penalty within twenty-eight days of the date of the notice.
Entry into barricaded area
31: Where an order is made under Section 30. (6)(c), no owner, employer or supervisor shall require or permit a worker to enter the workplace except for the purpose of doing work that is necessary or required to remove the danger or hazard and only where the worker is protected from the danger or hazard.
Notice of compliance
31.(1): Within three days after an employer who has received an order under Section 30 believes that compliance with the order has been achieved, the employer shall submit to the Authority a notice of compliance.
31. (2):  The notice shall be signed by the employer and shall be accompanied by:
(a) A statement of agreement or disagreement with the contents of the notice, signed by a member of the committee representing workers or by a safety and health representative, as the case may be; or
(b) A statement that the member or representative has declined to sign the statement referred to in paragraph (a).
31. (3): The employer shall post the notice of compliance submitted under Subsection (1) for a period of fourteen days following its submission to the Authority in a place or places in the workplace where it is most likely to come to the attention of workers.
31. (4): Despite the submission of a notice of compliance, an employer achieves compliance with an order under Section 30 when an inspector determines that compliance has been achieved.
Injunction proceedings
33: In addition to any other remedy or penalty therefore, where an order under Section 30 (6) is contravened, such contravention may be restrained upon an application made to the High Court at the instance of the Authority.
Appeals from order of an inspector
34. (1): Any employer, owner, worker or trade union which considers himself or itself aggrieved by any order made by an inspector under this Act or the regulations may, within seven days of the making thereof, appeal to the Minister.
34. (2): An appeal to the Minister may be made in writing or orally or by telephone, but the Minister may require the grounds for appeal to be specified in writing before the appeal is heard.
34. (3): The appellant, the inspector from whom the appeal is taken and such other persons as the Minister may specify shall be parties to an appeal under this section.
Here ends Part I of this presentation. Part II will commence on Wednesday.
*The writer is the former General Secretary of the Clerical & Commercial Workers’ Union (CCWU) and also a former President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) and a former Vice President of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC). He served the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL) as Research Officer 1983 – 1998.