Dear Editor,

THE Ministry of Social Protection (MSP), and more particularly the Minister within the MSP, is concerned about the Stabroek News’ editorial of Friday, 2nd September, 2016, appearing under the caption “Workplace Safety”.

The editorial begins by highlighting that incidents of workplace safety in Guyana have been an issue for a number of years. Such a statement is indisputable, but what are disputable are several unfounded assertions and allegations.

For example, reference was made to “the recent Commission of Inquiry into mining deaths, which found that during a fifteen (15)-month period there had been twenty-eight (28) deaths, mostly coming from pitfalls’ cave-in.”

That statement seems to be at variance with the findings of what can be termed the Dr. Grantley Walrond Committee of Inquiry into Mining Pit Collapses, which found that twenty-five (25) deaths were recorded in sixteen (16) accidents during the twelve (12)-month period of June 2014 to June 2015.

The said report, among other things, found that “there is a lax culture of safety in Guyana. It is a culture which the MSP has inherited, and has been vigorously confronting daily since May 2015.

This editorial has evidently ignored the existence of the ‘lax safety culture’, and wasted no time in unjustifiably accusing the Honourable Minister within the MSP for the current poor state of occupational health and safety at the national level.

It is most unfortunate that the architects of that editorial did not take the time to seek the truth from the relevant source. Had they so done, they would have found the following: 1. Minister Scott has inherited a broken and dysfunctional system of workplace safety and health.
2. He has developed strategies designed to correct the exhibited deficiencies.

The editor has relied on parliamentary records in a vain attempt to discredit the Honourable Minister; but had he taken the time to examine the Minister’s 2015 budget presentation, he would have noticed a segment of his remedial strategy outlined therein.

The editorial is considered to be one of the most important sections of any newspaper, and it is therefore expected that care, professionalism, and moral rectitude would be core principles embraced in its creation. That was hardly the case with the editorial under focus at this time.
Surely, there must have been blatant disregard for the time-honoured ethics pertaining to the crafting of an editorial.

The fact that reference was made to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 2007 is clear manifestation of recklessness, which could be quite disturbing once revealed. As far as the MSP is aware, the Occupational Safety and Health Act is of 1997 vintage, or Chapter 99:10, and not of 2007.

In furtherance of a less-than-honourable agenda, the thoughts of a former Chairman of the National Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) were marshalled; but what needs highlighting is that it was Minister Scott who recently appointed the NACOSH, which had not functioned for at least the last three (3) years.

It is true that Section 23 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act provides for establishment of joint workplace safety and health committees, but the Law does not place responsibility for establishment of those committees within the domain of the MSP, as the editorial had implied.
However, in interest of the health and safety of workers and managers alike, the MSP has, on a weekly basis, been assisting employers in this regard. Towards that end, Minister Scott and his team of technical officers have rolled out a comprehensive programme targeting a total of sixty-two (62) employers, who are being encouraged to partner with the MSP in promoting Occupational Safety and Health in their immediate environs.

The MSP wishes to arrest the inaccuracy of the editorial when it asserted that the target group of that programme is “companies that have reported workplace accidents in the past.” Again, if those responsible for the editorial had taken the time to exercise caution and had contacted the MSP, they would have been told that the target group does not exclusively comprise employers who had reported accidents in the past.
Moreover, the initiative is not a one-off exercise, but is intended to be ongoing.

It is certainly an initiative birthed by Minister Scott, and anyone interested in truth, accuracy, and enhancement of professionalism would have sought access to the necessary personnel and documents which, inter alia, define the expected outcomes of the programmes.

Minister Scott should be commended, rather than criticized. Since assumption of his present portfolio, he has taken every possible step to restore confidence in the MSP. Irrespective of the utterances of naysayers, he has taken performance of the MSP to where reports containing findings and recommendations of fatal accidents, serious accidents and other investigations are being handed over to the relevant parties in presence of the media. For the first time in the history of the Labour Department, all industrial accidents with fatal consequences are being investigated with a degree of nimbleness never before witnessed.

To date, investigations of all fatalities and serious accidents have been completed, or are close to completion. The only fatal accident investigation which is outstanding relates to that which recently occurred at Puruni, in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni Region. Investigation of that accident is deemed a work in progress, which will be concluded as soon as the necessary data are gathered and interviews are conducted.

The only incomplete non-fatal accident investigation pertains to an accident at the Eugene F. Correia International Airport at Ogle, involving an aircraft belonging to Roraima Airways. Completion of that investigation is being hindered by the unavailability of a main witness for more than two (2) months now; and in spite of the challenges being encountered, the MSP is determined to leave no stone unturned in its investigation.

The allegation that Ministers Lawrence and Scott are often unavailable to speak to the press on a number of labour matters is without substance, and constitutes a deliberate attempt to malign them. The MSP records would show that both ministers operate within the framework of an open-door policy, and are always available to interact with the media. On several occasions, the media were invited to the offices of the ministers; and the ministers have voluntarily offered their official phone numbers and contact details to all media operatives.

Finally, within the ambit of the Labour Act, Chapter 98:01, the minister responsible for labour matters is authorized to intervene and resolve any difference between and among the relevant parties operating on the industrial relations’ platform, hence the ministers’ involvement in a number of issues is not without moral and legal foundation. Some issues which readily came to mind involve Qualfon, BOSAI, BARAMA, DTL, and RUSAL, to name a few. While some of the relevant parties have been more understanding and co-operative than others, the MSP has, at all times, offered reasonable and workable solutions to their differences. It is usually up to the parties to accept the recommendations of the MSP. In the case of RUSAL, the MSP’s recorded evidence would show that its recent engagements with the management of that company were attended by meetings with the recognized union immediately before and after the company had been engaged.

The MSP wishes to submit that it has, at all times, acted — and will continue to act — in the best interest of those who need social protection; and anyone who attempts to suggest to the contrary ought to be pitied.

Regards,
MINISTRY OF SOCIAL PROTECTION