Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, has emphasized the need for a joint Responsibility System at places of work to promote and maintain safety and health practices. This was conveyed in his message on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Day in Guyana, an observance aimed at raising awareness among employers, workers, and trade unions about the importance of safety and health at work and their respective roles and responsibilities.
A Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC) is usually an advisory group made up of employers and employees who work together to improve OSH standards and practices in their workplace.
Hamilton stressed that employers must make a special effort to ensure that such committees are established, particularly if the workplace employs more than 20 workers. He further urged that, “Those workplaces that employ more than five (5) employees but less than twenty (20 are also requested to have a safety and health representative appointed” and cautioned that failure to comply with this legal requirement may have implications for employers.
As a member state of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Hamilton noted that Guyana has an obligation to adhere to its principles. To this end, the Ministry of Labour has executed a rigorous campaign through its Occupational Safety and Health Department, focusing on “prevention rather than cure”. He announced that the department’s service delivery program achieved significant progress in the last two years, resulting in a decline in workplace fatalities of 16 percent in 2021 and 22 percent in 2022. Despite the encouraging reduction, the government is committed to achieving zero fatalities.
Hamilton also emphasized that a safe and healthy working environment is a fundamental principle and right at work. As such, employers, workers, and trade unions must work together to ensure that safety and health practices are implemented and maintained in the workplace.
Notably, workplaces that have established functioning joint workplace safety and health committees have been recognized with awards from the Annual Award Programme of the National Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH).
