Minister Hamilton urges logging company to comply with OSH, labour laws

Minister of Labour, Hon. Joseph Hamilton tours Viatarna’s operations

– as Ministry ups efforts to safeguard employees

Minister of Labour, Hon. Joseph Hamilton today, visited Vaitarna Private Holdings Incorporated (VPHI) to have a first-hand look at their Wineperu, Bartica, Region Seven operations. The visit is in keeping with the Ministry’s efforts to advance its programme to safeguard workers’ rights countrywide.

Minister Hamilton was accompanied by Labour Officer, Mr. Roydon Croal, Senior Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Officer, Mrs. Johana Vaughn and acting Senior Labour Officer, Mr. Prandatt Basdeo.

Minister Hamilton told the DPI that there is room for improvement based on what they saw. He said the Ministry would be working with the company over the next three months to ensure it is in compliance with all labour regulations.

“I would hope that after our discussions the company put everything in place to ensure that they follow all the workers relations laws and my officers will be returning here by the end of June to follow up…we will work with them to establish a health and safety committee which is important because this is high tension places for injuries and so, we want to avoid those things from happening,” Minister Hamilton said.

Minister of Labour, Hon, Joseph Hamilton engages some of the managers at the work site

The Labour Minister said the exercise is in keeping with the PPP/C manifesto promise to ensure workers rights are protected and that foreign companies observe the labour laws of Guyana. It is for this reason, he said, the PPP/C Government established the Labour Ministry as a separate entity to strengthen its capacity to address labour challenges nationwide. Already, the Ministry has increased its staff complement to include Labour, OSH, Central Recruitment and Manpower and Board of Industrial Training officers in every region. In the case of Regions Seven and Eight, Minister Hamilton said the Ministry has been experiencing some difficulties recruiting qualified individuals to fill those positions. He said the Ministry will continue to engage the Region to have those vacancies filled within a month.

The sawmill area