Safety is everybody’s business

THIS month is International Safety Month and Guyana joins with other countries in not only marking the event, but also declaring its commitment to system-strengthening.
A safe environment is a prerequisite for protecting lives and preventing the loss of limbs and illness in various forms. While emphasis on safety has traditionally been placed on the industrial environment, it is equally important that similar attention be given to the handling of environmental waste, use of the roads, and citizens’ education on the issue.

Any failure to make foolproof the planning and execution of safety measures puts at risk Government’s focus on building a green state. The green state as is understood is founded on conventions, rules, and laws which require international observation on all fronts. The resultant effect of compliance with internationally required safety standards can see Guyana realising growth through reduction in loss of limbs, joints, lives, occupational diseases, and infectious diseases occurring because of poor management in public health. The money saved through prevention could be diverted to various forms of development.

On Sunday, Guyana marked the commencement of a month of activities with a march and rally in the city of Georgetown. The event attracted participants primarily from State agencies and the trade union movement. Instructively, there was the noticeable absence of representatives from the private sector. The recent global recession that wiped out individuals’ savings and investments, which were the result of relaxed government regulations and oversight, the bitter experience has seen governments moving to avoid similar future occurrences. This is being realised through establishment of new rules and oversights institutions with responsibility to police the financial systems and physical environments.

Movement of money — across countries, continents, and banking institutions — no longer can be done without questions being asked as to the source of funding. Governments are aware that the absence of oversight allows dirty money to be used in formal transactions, such as in money-laundering and the financing of terrorism. Money used by terrorists puts at risk not only the safety of individuals, but also the survival of communities, given that they are usually targeted for physical destruction. While money- laundering undermines effective management of a nation’s economy and puts at risk the economic survival of citizens, it further immobilises economic planning in meeting targets in providing quality social services such as garbage collection and public health.

Creating a safe environment requires involvement across the spectrum. Private employers share similar responsibilities as that of the public sector. Though the absence of the former from Sunday’s event is noted, it would be to the advantage of ensuring a safe environment for all to encourage their involvement, not only in participation at commemorative events, but also respecting the laws.

The announcement by the National Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) of a programme to visit work sites and encourage formation of joint workplace communities consistent with the Occupational Safety and Health Act (1997) is encouraging. In pursuing this approach, the State would be required to provide the requisite leadership, creating the momentum, and influencing citizens’ acceptance. There could be no better place to strengthen our safety infrastructure, via national involvement, than to start with the agencies that saw it worthy to participate on Sunday.

It is reasonable to assume that their presence was informed by understanding and appreciation of the seriousness of safety in the workplace and wider environment, making them the best promoters of behavioural change. Safety is everybody’s business. It means ensuring its achievement does not seek to secure the environment, workplace for self and but also for fellow worker, man, and future generations. The green state as proposed, which is grounded in respecting rights and laws, could only stand to benefit from a healthy population. It is a nation’s human capital that forms its workforce- employed, self-employed, and employer-and their safety would ultimately be responsible for its production and productivity.

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