Labour officers conduct capacity building at workplaces with focus on health & safety 

Occupational Health and Safety Officers attached to the Ministry of Labour are conducting capacity-building training sessions focused on safety at various workplaces.

Gwenette King, an Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) at the Ministry of Labour, on Wednesday said the ministry is charged with the responsibility of monitoring, encouraging, and enforcing good practices in safety and health standards at work. By actively engaging workplaces, the ministry is able to execute its duties.

“We would conduct workplace inspections, we will investigate workplace accidents because workplace accidents are supposed to be reported to us, it’s a legal requirement, if it’s a fatal accident it is to be reported forthwith, if it is a non-fatal it is to be reported within four days,” King said.

The World Day for Safety and Health at Work, was observed on April 28, under the theme: “Revolutionising Health and Safety: The Role of AI and Digitalisation at Work.”

The ministry conducted several activities to highlight this observance, but more than that, it takes health and safety at workplaces into the homes. This is a way of providing the general public with information that further aids in safety at every level. Roydon Croal, the assistant chief OHS officer told the News Room on Wednesday that vital information and preventative advice shared during these sessions are part of efforts to reduce and prevent workplace accidents.

“We have some senior officers here who do some specialised training. We go to that workplace and all the officers do PowerPoint presentations, that’s for trainings more than an hour.

“With regards to awareness talks, officers have brochures that they use,” Roydon said.

He also said that persons show interest in better understanding safety and laws.

“The feedback from the companies that we worked with, the content which was given which would enable them to enhance safety in their workplace. Since we would’ve found oil years ago, everybody is interested in safety. They want to know…the rights of the workers, duties of the employers, so they are really upbeat with it,” the Assistant Chief OHS officer said.

In 2024, the ministry recorded 32 workplace deaths and over 500 accidents were received by the ministry. The ministry investigates these reports and in cases of unsafe working conditions, it conducts evaluations and recommends solutions. These are to be implemented and adhered to, and the ministry conducts follow ups.

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton has reaffirmed the need for workplace safety, especially in sectors prone to have industrial accidents – mining, construction, agriculture – where heavy duty machinery is used.

The ministry has stationed labour officers in almost every region as part of efforts to keep track of agencies and ensuring that accidents can be actively reported on and even prevented.