In 2023, the Labour Ministry recorded a total of 20 workplace deaths, owing to accidents in the mining, construction, agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
Of the 20 deaths recorded, nine occurred in the mining sector in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) while six were recorded in the construction sector.
The Ministry also recorded 175 non-fatal accidents that were investigated out of the 577 reports received. The majority of these reports emanated from the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
Additionally, 950 inspections were conducted at workplaces across the 10 administrative regions, which directly impacted over 8000 workers.
In instances where breaches of the Occupational Safety and Health Act were identified, the Labour Ministry offered written and verbal advice.
These statistics were provided by Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton, during his ministry’s end-of-year press conference on Tuesday.
According to Hamilton, there was a decrease in workplace accidents in 2023 when compared to 2022.
In 2020, there were 32 workplace deaths; in 2021, that number decreased to 27 and then in 2022, there were 21 deaths.
“Over a three-year period, we have moved from 32 deaths in that area and now 20 deaths that should not have happened, at least most of them in my view…Every death is a person, it’s not a statistic, somebody’s child, husband, father, set of people mourning and so for me, I don’t treat these as statistics and that is why we are doing everything possible to ensure that this can be reduced to zero,” Hamilton told the media.
He disclosed during the press conference that Government would be addressing the issue of occupational deaths in a holistic way this year.
While engagement will continue with employers and workers in all the sectors, especially miners, several joint technical committees were established with partner agencies in the public and private sectors, to develop target strategies that will aid in the reduction of occupational deaths.
Further, works are ongoing to develop a medical first-aid training programme for companies and workers in the mining and forestry sectors.
This is a joint venture between the Labour Ministry, the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDA), the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Health Ministry.
“… You’ll have somebody on a mining site, or in a camp who have some first-aid training. We will have Red Cross and so as partners. So, that is something that will help… There is so much we can do, but to deal with this matter in a holistic way, the people themselves, they have to do several things, which seek to change [the] culture,” the Labour Minister explained.
Around 18:00h on March 15, search and recovery efforts to locate 59-year-old Neptrid Hercules, employee of BOSAI Minerals Group Guyana, concluded when his body was found in the bulldozer he was operating in the east Montgomery Mines at BOSAI Minerals, Linden, Region 10.
Hercules, an employee of BOSAI for more than four decades who was set to retire later last year, was working on the overburden dump for around four hours when it caved in.
A joint venture was established by the Labour and Home Affairs Ministries and the GGMC to thoroughly investigate the cause of his death and prepare an analysis to identify solutions to prevent a recurrence.
BOSAI, who committed at the time to assist with the investigation, provided the bulldozer to the relevant authorities for observation.
In April, the Commission of Inquiry into Hercules’ death concluded its investigation and a report containing recommendations was provided to the Labour Ministry.
Among the recommendations were that a sectoral coordinating group comprising representatives of the Labour Ministry, GGMC, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a representative of the workers union should be established; there be promulgation of the regulations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act; BOSAI Minerals Group Guyana establish a Health and Safety Committee for the Reclamation Dump Construction; BOSAI Minerals Group Guyana must install and maintain geotechnical engineering, ground and surface water hydrology capacity supported by the appropriate field and laboratory equipment; BOSAI Minerals Group Guyana must prepare and submit the report required by Part 111 (13) (q) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act; BOSAI Minerals Group Guyana must submit a document to stack or dump any waste product resulting from mining operations to GGMC for approval; BOSAI Minerals Group Guyana must prepare and submit an Environmental Management Plan and Contingency and Emergency Response Plan as required by the 2005 Mining Amendments; BOSAI Minerals Group Guyana must commission and submit an updated Environmental Impact Assessment containing a description of best available technology and with a risk assessment and an Emergency Response Plan and BOSAI Minerals Group Guyana must provide a report to the Labour Ministry bearing the seal and the signature of a professional engineer addressing ground stability to ensure that a worker was not likely to be endangered.
