The National Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH), along with the Social Protection Ministry, hosted an awareness walk to commence the commemoration of National Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Month, which is celebrated in April.
Scores of workers attached to various Government Ministries, trade unions as well as private and public entities participated in the walk, which commenced at the Bank of Guyana and ended at D’Urban Park with various fitness challenges and activities.
The walk was held to raise awareness of the need to optimise strategies to ensure safety in the workplace. It was also aimed at celebrating the worldwide labour force while highlighting the importance of workers’ well-being to increased productivity.
Speaking at the event was NACOSH Chairman Andrew Garnett, who expressed delight over the great turnout to the walk and explained the need for occupational safety and health in the workplace. Garnett stated at the event, “We are joining workers worldwide in paying tribute to workers who have been putting their backs to the production wheel and been producing in a very effective and efficient way over the years.”
The NACOSH Chairman further alluded to the World Health Organisation’s definition of health, pointing out that it went beyond the absence of disease or infirmity to include physical, social and mental well-being. He noted that the walk aided the enhancement of those extended concerns.
Also joining the walk were several Government Ministers who shared their views on OSH. Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes highlighted the importance of safety in the workplace, especially in Guyana, given the long history of accidents.
“It is not just theory; we got to put this into practice. And as employees in companies and Ministries, each and every one of us has a responsibility to promote safety and health standards and procedures,” stated Hughes. She went on to say, “It means that if you see something that could be a potential threat to any of your workers, any of your colleagues or friends, you have a responsibility to say we got a problem and most importantly, to make sure we act on it and we change.”
Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson and Minister within the Social Protection Ministry with responsibility for labour, Keith Scott echoed similar sentiments, highlighting that fewer accidents in the workplace would increase productivity and, inherently, boost the economy.
The safety and health walk provided a platform for proposals to improve efforts and promote safety within workplaces. NACOSH indicated that an aggressive and comprehensive programme was in the pipeline to prevent the culture of, and minimise, work-related accidents and diseases. Engaging stakeholders, resuscitating the Joint Workplace Safety and Health Committee and empowering management and non-management workers are among the Council’s objectives for these initiatives.
A series of activities is in store for the month of April as the commemoration of the National Occupational Safety and Health Month continues in keeping with the theme, “Optimise the collection and use of Occupational Safety and Health data”. April 28 is the official day of OSH for which a commemorative ceremony is planned.
