– says Labour Minister
MINISTER of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, says he has observed several breaches in occupational safety and health regulations at popular coconut estates in the Pomeroon River in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supernaam), including the prevalence of child labour, lack of protective gears for workers, and employees being paid less for more hours.
Minister Hamilton and a team from the Ministry of Labour are on a three-day visit to the region to examine Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) guidelines and to ensure they are properly enforced at existing estates in the Pomeroon River.
“The issues of child labour, as I speak to you, Guyana is now being reviewed by the ILO [International Labour Organisation) regarding the issue of child labour, and not just the ILO; the American State Department review and I have been in conversation… right now we are in the process of filling up the questionnaire to deal with the issue of child labour at both levels,” Minister Hamilton said.
Another breach he noticed on the coconut estates was employers not issuing protective gear to employees working under hazardous conditions. During interactions with workers, it was revealed that they were not paid for the hours they worked nor were they given overtime.
“The law says that if you work eight hours a day, anything beyond that must be calculated as overtime and must be calculated as time and half on ordinary days, and double time Sundays and statutory holidays,” Hamilton emphasised.
He explained that certain work environments are considered as ‘factory’ and, as such, the coconut estates fall under that category. He said that employers are creating a narrative where they consider overtime after a person works 40 hours, but he noted that is unlawful.
The Labour Ministry will, therefore, be working to rectify the issues and to ensure that workers are treated fairly. It was agreed that officers from the ministry will revisit the coconut estates and engage the employers and remind them about the rules and regulations relating to Occupation Safety and Health (OSH).
Hamilton urged employers to pay attention to safety culture, pointing out that the government is aiming for zero workplace fatalities and accidents.
Currently, Region Two has one OSH officer with plans on stream to hire more. There are also plans to acquire boats and engines for officers to effectively execute their duties in the remote communities of Region Two.
