Labour Minister – Gov’t committed to maintaining safe, healthy workplaces

Remaining keen on maintaining the safety and health of workers countrywide is the Labour ministry.

Minister, Joseph Hamilton on Friday said  that the government’s interventions in the workplace have contributed to the decrease in workplace fatalities.

“You have to pay attention to what you would have as a likely increase if you didn’t have these interventions. So, if you didn’t have the interventions. If you didn’t have a NACOSH board, that is to engage and involve the Ministry of Labour’s OSH department. That is what we’re doing since 2020. That 32 per cent would have become 42 per cent in 2021,” he said.

It was disclosed that in 2020, there were 32 workplace fatalities mostly in mining and construction.

It was noted that there was a 16 per cent reduction in workplace fatality in 2021 and a 24 per cent reduction in 2022.

As such, some 1,298 workplace inspections were completed for the public and private sectors in 2022.

It was disclosed that the plans of the ministry’s OSH department and the National Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) have been executed well in keeping with the department’s aim.

As such, the responsibilities are to monitor, enforce, and encourage the practice of good safety and health standards at workplaces.

Further, the aim is to sensitise, create, and increase awareness in workers and the general public as to the importance of safety and health at workplaces and at homes.

It was noted that this will create and maintain safe working environments by making use of all tools at their disposal to raise public understanding of the idea of risks and hazards.

Regarding the expansions and developments across the country, Minister Hamilton underlined that, “The more roads, bridges, and houses you build, this means that more persons will be exposed in workplaces. It means that we will need to train and produce more health and safety workers because you are doing more. That is something we have to pay attention to.”

The minister pointed out that the NACOSH board was informed that all of the agencies have to participate in training and continue training for the health and safety of officers within the various agencies.

This, he stressed will help to strengthen the safety and health systems within the organisations.

“We will continue to work with agencies to ensure that their health and safety committee function effectively and efficiently in the public and private sectors so that we can keep people safe. That is the fundamental issue.” he said. 

Hamilton emphasised that the ministry will continue its work on providing training and engagement sessions with workplaces across the country to ensure they adhere to the health and safety regulations.

“I’m talking about workplaces whether it be fields, offices, or factories. We will continue that engagement, education, and training. Any company and any governmental entity or agency that believes that there is a need for training of their employees. We do it for free, anywhere in the country. That is something that we do continuously as part of our work there at the ministry,” Hamilton added.