MORE than 100 persons, on Thursday, attended the Ministry of Labour’s annual Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Month Awareness Walk in New Amsterdam, Region Six.

The activity commenced at 08:00hrs at Philadelphia Street and concluded at the New Amsterdam Technical Institute. The walk was led by Regional Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Officer, Nazmoon Jafarally, and was supported by Ministry of Labour staff from both the regional and Georgetown offices.

The ministry said that representatives of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), Nand Persaud and Company Ltd., Massy Distribution Guyana Inc., Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. (GuySuCo), and the New Amsterdam Technical Institute were among the participants.

At the conclusion of the walk, Jafarally, during brief remarks underscored the importance of ensuring employees are kept comfortable and healthy at work as the atmosphere goes through significant changes.

This was in keeping with the theme for OSH Month 2024, ‘We are running out of time: Ensuring Safe and Healthy Work Now in a Changing Climate’.

Ms. Jafarally stressed: “In the ever-changing climate that we have, water is vital… Because of the heat that we are experiencing, dehydration is at the top of the list of workers’ problems.

When workers are dehydrated, there’s no oxygen going to the brain, and they will not be able to do their work. A comfortable and safe employee is a productive employee,’’
Furthermore, she urged safety officers who were present to implement measures to ensure safe and healthy workplaces.

Assistant Safety and Health Officer at GPL, Joel Kellowan, echoed these sentiments, adding: “We need a healthy and safe work environment, but, more so, we need to start seriously thinking about our climate, and how we do things. We have to start operating differently.”

The Region Six activity was the fourth one planned in the Ministry of Labour’s calendar of regional walks for the month.
The largest walk is set to be held in Georgetown, Region Four on Sunday, April 28, 2024.