At least 50 workers have lost their lives since August last, according to data released by the Labour Ministry on Tuesday and without a doubt, this has caused some concerns.
Subject Minister, Joseph Hamilton noted that this occurrence has to be stopped.
“We have two choices in this matter. Either we continue our merry way, and we prepare to go wake houses and play dominoes and cards, and to attend funerals; or we change. For me, the first option is that I don’t want to shepherd that.”
“I have already had to issue nearly 50 death announcements since I am a Minister. Fifty is too much,” he said.
The Minister said many times people pay attention to the statistics when their main focus should be the loss a family has to endure.
“For me, it is a person, a father, a husband, a son, and in many cases, persons who are leaving children behind because the breadwinner is gone. That cannot continue.”
For the year 2020, 35 persons have died in workplaces accidents, while 300 persons were injured.
“Some people lost limbs, some are still incapacitated, many couldn’t continue to feed themselves, and all of this has been happening silently in this country where no one apparently was paying attention,” he said.
In addition, the Minister related that there were nine officers who were managing the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act in Guyana, and it was increased to some 30 when he took office.
Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton
He said now, every region in Guyana has about two OSH officers with the aim of saving more lives in the workplace.
“When people go to work, they can go back to their families alive every afternoon,” the Minister reiterated.
He pointed out that most times, emphasis is placed on occupational safety in factories and construction, but more emphasis should be placed in offices as well.
“In offices, you can have safety hazards, and they have many that we have to change in this country. They have many people putting up buildings, how many stories high, and has no elevator, has no sprinkling system, and they are just there to kill people,” he said.
Further, Hamilton noted that most of the people who are dying due to accidents that occur at workplaces are those who are in the prime of their lives. With this in mind, he said the Ministry is working to have this issue curbed as soon as possible
“While the others are important, this one is becoming more important, and I dare say that it will become most important…”, he posited.
Only earlier in the month, 22-year-old Sudesh Charran, a labourer of Lot 3964 West Minister, West Bank Demerara (WBD), was crushed by a metal lift while working at a supermarket at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara (WCD).
The now dead man was reportedly walking under the metal lift to enter the supermarket when it fell from the upper flat and pinned him to the ground.
As a result, workers rushed to his assistance and used a piece of wood to lift the metal structure from the man’s body. They managed to pull him out but by this time, he was motionless and a large wound was seen to the top of his head.
The Police were summoned, and the injured victim was taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) where he was pronounced dead on arrival. An investigation is underway.
