CHINA Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC) has been given a menu of measures to implement in order to maintain proper occupational health and safety standards at its Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) worksite at Timehri.The recommendations come in the wake of an accident which claimed the life of one of the company’s workers at the site recently.
According to a preliminary report issued by the Ministry of Social Protection, CHEC has been tasked with maintaining correct records of the wages of every employee; training workers at construction sites on a regular basis on the importance of Safety and Health when carrying out tasks; posting an occupational safety and health Act at the worksite; reporting accidents in a timely manner according to law; registering its business with the Ministry of Social Protection, Labour, Occupational Safety and Health Department; and compensating the injured employee, according to a preliminary report seen by this publication.
The report by the Labour, Occupational Safety and Health Department follows the death last month of Chinese engineer Liu Li and injury of his colleague, Zhan Yixun at the CJIA expansion site at Timehri.
Many were the shortcomings discovered by the ministry, which may have resulted in the death and injury of the two Chinese engineers.
For instance, it was discovered that the accident was not reported to the Ministry of Social Protection; that both the deceased and injured CHEC employees had only begun working here on September 6 this year; and that both had no prior work experience, and had only graduated from universities in China in July.

TAMPERED ACCIDENT SITE
It was also discovered that at the time of the accident, the deceased, the injured employee, and an excavator operator were in and around the sub-lot, and that said sub-lot was “submerged with underground water.”
It was also found that despite the accident scene being cordoned off, it was tampered with. At the time of the accident, it was revealed, Li, the deceased, was in a bending position while inserting the vane shear apparatus into the ground when he was covered by slush. It was also revealed that the injured man was covered up to his waist in soil at the same time as the deceased.
“The soil texture at the sub-lot was loose, waterlogged, and it was the least unstable type of soil,” the preliminary report said.
The team of investigators from the Ministry was told by a Site Engineer that “the area was excavated in a slope. However, upon site visit, the team noticed no slope,” the report added.
The Chinese Company has committed to compensating the family of the deceased; they’ve also said that they met with his family in China to discuss “burial arrangements”, but according to the report, “no proof of such financial assistance was seen.” The deceased was cremated in Guyana, and his ashes taken to China.

MEDICAL TREATMENT
The Diamond Diagnostic Centre was unable to give medical treatment to the deceased, and as such he was transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) by a CHEC vehicle as no ambulance was available. He was treated at the GPHC by Chinese doctors. The injured employee was, however, treated at the Diamond facility.

LANGUAGE BARRIER
There was also the problem of language barrier, which has been cited as a major factor hindering effective communication amongst all parties. According to the report, “It was also observed in Clause 1:4 that the official language which both parties signed in agreement of the contract to correspond in English. However, when the officers requested the relevant documents, they were not provided in English.”

WORK AND OVERTIME
CHEC breached Guyana’s labour laws with respect to the hours employees were expected to work. “It was also observed in the contract, Clause 6.5 that the workers are working ten hours per day, seven days per week… Wages records for the local workers revealed that no overtime is being paid to the workers,” the report said, adding:
“In addition, workers designations are not stated on the pay sheet to identify the category of workers employed by CHEC.”
On the matter of the wages records provided for the Chinese employees, it was found that it did not reflect the name of the deceased, nor that of the injured man, and that this bit of information was not provided in English as stipulated in the contract.

REQUEST FOR DOCUMENTS
Following a visit to the worksite by Minister Broomes and team, a number of recommendations were made and documents requested. Officers of the Occupational Safety and Health Department contacted a senior officer of CHEC for the submission of passports, work permits, personal files, signed hard copies of the Chinese and English contract of employment between Liu Li and Zhang Yixun with CHEC, wages records for all CHEC employees on the CJIA Airport Expansion Project, an autopsy report, National Insurance Scheme Records, Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Records and Business Registration Certificate.
Thus far, the Chinese company has not provided the work permits, signed hard copies of the Chinese and English contract of employment between Liu Li and Zhang Yixun with CHEC, wages records for all CHEC employees on the CJIA Airport Expansion Project, an autopsy report, National Insurance Scheme Records, nor Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Records.

POSSIBLE LEGAL ACTION
Legal action can be taken against CHEC for failing to make an application to the Ministry for registration of an industrial establishment as outlined by Section 7 (1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Chapter 99:10; failing to report the accident in a stipulated time-frame as outlined in Section 69 (1) of the said Act; and failing to produce wages records in accordance with the Section 10 of the Labour Act Chapter 98:01.
On September 29, Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Simona Broomes granted permission to CHEC to re-start work on the airport expansion project, but warned company representatives of the need to comply with Guyana’s laws. She said the death of Li and injury of Yixun was as a result of negligence.

By Ariana Gordon