IN 2024, the Ministry of Labour will prioritise the provision of comprehensive first-aid training for individuals employed in mining and forestry areas.

This specialised training is crucial, as it ensures that on-site personnel possess the necessary skills to respond to injuries promptly and efficiently, with the aim of minimising the risk of fatalities and other severe consequences resulting from workplace accidents.

Joseph Hamilton, Minister of Labour, made the statement on Tuesday during the Ministry of Labour’s 2023 End of Year press conference.

“A lot of individuals that die, it’s not necessarily that they died because of how it is handled… let us say a person got injured and those around them are at a loss on what to do, then it will become a problem. The person will bleed to death. But if somebody understands what to do, they can compress the injuries, or take care of a broken limb, until a professional can attend to it,” he explained.

The training will be carried out in partnership with organisations such as the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Ministry of Health, and global humanitarian organisation Red Cross.

Meanwhile, the Ministry’s Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) department will continue to engage miners and employers in the mining sector through sensitisation sessions, brochures and other forms of engagement.

In 2023, 20 workplace deaths were recorded, and of those 20, nine occurred within the mining sector. This is compared to 32 workplace deaths in 2020, 27 in 2021, and 21 in 2022.

Minister Hamilton has since pledged to reduce the number of workplace deaths to zero, stating that one life lost is one too many.
“Over a three-year period, we have moved from 32 deaths… to 20 deaths that should not have happened.

“Every death is a person… and so for me, I don’t treat these as statistics. That is why we are doing everything possible to ensure that this can be reduced to zero,” he expressed.