DEMERARA Timbers Limited (DTL) is being placed under the microscope once again, this time by the Natural Resources Ministry. A meeting is scheduled to be held this week to discuss the entire operation of the company.In December, during a random inspection by the Department of Labour, DTL was found to be in breach of Chapter 99 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. In response, the company sent home approximately 35 workers “until further notice”, to facilitate repairs to a primary machine within the sawmill, which was found to be a major safety hazard.

On Sunday, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman and Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, paid the company a visit at its Mabura Hill, Region 10 location. It was during a brief meeting with the officer in charge, Kwangsiong Chuo, that Minister Trotman indicated that his Ministry would write the Management of DTL, summoning a meeting. That meeting is set for this week.

“So you will come and give a full account of everything that is happening here. We are going to discuss all of the operations, not just the part that is shut down,” Minister Trotman said while adding that the Government was concerned about the employment of its people.

Minister Broomes, who had led the OHS Team to Mabura in December, sought clarification on whether the workers would be paid while at home. Chuo responded in the positive, explaining that they would receive 50 per cent of their salaries as the company attempts to rectify the situation.

The workers have accused the company of victimising them due to the warnings it had received from the Social Protection Ministry, Department of Labour; but in an interview with Guyana Chronicle, DTL General Manager Martin Ting denied any attempt to victimise the workers, saying that the closure of the saw mill was necessary to put corrective measures in place as outlined by the Department of Labour.

It was explained that the defective machine was the primary one on which the other machines depend; hence if it is out of operation, the entire saw mill grinds to a halt.

The company has reportedly spent Gy$3M to source parts from Germany to repair the defective machine, but to no avail.

UNCLEAR
The company is now analysing the possibility of putting an alternative system in place, but this, according to the DTL officials, will take months. As a result, it is unclear when the saw mill will resume operation.

But though the company has taken a decision to shut down the saw mill, the General Manager told this newspaper that the letter sent to DTL in December by the Labour, Occupational Safety and Health Department was vague; hence the company will soon seek further clarification.

“I have to write for clarification,” Ting emphasised.

In the letter, dated December 14, 2015 and signed by Assistant Chief Labour, Occupational Safety and Health Officer Lydia Greene, the department pointed out that DTL, at its Mabura Hill concession, had no safety and health policy in place.

“No functional fire extinguishers or fire drills were in place in the event of a fire. Inadequate safety boots were provided in some instances, whilst in other instances no safety boots were provided to workers. No prescribed types of personal protective equipment were provided to workers exposed to high density of saw dust in the entire location,” the department pointed out.

In fact, 22 breaches were cited by the department, but Ting maintained that the letter failed to reflect the true operations of the company. “I have to write for clarification. How could there be no functioning fire extinguishers? Are you telling me that our fire extinguishers are not working? A lot of things we have to write and ask for clarification, because a lot of the things are not true,” he told this newspaper.

Ting was backed by Sales Manager Robert Perry, who whipped out copies of the Occupational Safety and Health Policy Statement and the Safety Gear Audit Report. According to Perry, the company had an Occupational Safety and Health Policy, but it was not available at the time of the visit.

By Svetlana Marshall