–21 new OHS officers to be recruited by Ministry of Labour, special attention for mining, construction

By Jared Liddell
AMID a growing local economy and expanding labour market, the Ministry of Labour will be looking to implement a robust Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) programme this year, according to subject Minister, Joseph Hamilton.

Hamilton made this announcement during his remarks at the recent launch of OHS month 2021. Guyana is observing Occupational Safety and Health Month under the theme: “Investing in OSH systems, capitalising on safety and healthy working environments in times of crisis.”
“There is a great need for us to place an increased focus on good workplace safety and health practices, and promote the safety and health culture in Guyana. Therefore, investing in Occupational Safety and Health systems and the workplace is a necessity. It is very important and can save lives,” Hamilton reasoned.
The Ministry of Labour is currently in the process of employing 21 new OHS officers, as part of efforts to ensure that all workers across Guyana have equitable access to more efficient services.

“We have to find the qualified persons and bring them into the system. We don’t have enough labour officers and that is why I have been making the point that we are attempting to ensure that in every region we can have at least two labour officers and that is what we are working towards, and that is part of the engagements we had with the Regional Democratic Councils,” Minister Hamilton said.

The ministry, he said, also intends to position OHS officers in Guyana’s Oil and Gas sector. Already, there are plans to utilise nine senior OHS officers in this area to ensure that best OHS systems are employed in what is expected to be one of the largest sectors in the country.

Further, Minister Hamilton said that specialist OHS officers will also be trained to deal directly with sectors such as forestry and construction.
Simply put, the ministry will be introducing a comprehensive programme which focuses on OHS across every major productive sector in Guyana. Special emphasis will be placed on the mining and construction sectors because of the relatively high number of fatalities recorded in 2020.

Multi-stakeholder outreaches will be conducted in mining communities in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine.
“The messages will be on accident prevention and the adherence to COVID-19 protocols for the workplace. Therefore, there will be various inspections at construction sites to ensure that there is compliance with the OSH Act, and the OSH officers of this ministry will also be available to provide technical support for employers and trade unions programme,” Minister Hamilton said.