Osha in focus at Pt Lisas HSE Week
Port Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
11 18 07
T&T
is well on the way to establishing a safe and
healthy work environment to increase levels
of competitiveness that would make this country
more attractive to global investors, according
to Carl Francis permanent secretary in the Ministry
of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprises.
He
made the statement while delivering the feature
address at the formal opening of the Point Lisas
Industrial Estate’s Health and Safety Week
at Plipdeco House, Point Lisas, on Monday.
Speaking on the Occupational Safety and Health
Act (Osha), Francis said the law covered all people
at work except domestic workers who work in households,
which are not defined as industrial establishments.
He said health and safety issues required broad
participation from workers and employers with government
assisting in an advisory capacity.
Francis
said, “The act therefore imposes
duties and responsibilities for workers‚ protection
on employers, occupiers, designers, manufacturers
and installers.”
He
said the act makes special provisions for pregnant
employees. “The employer has the duty to
ensure that they are not exposed to chemicals or
subject to working conditions that may be dangerous
to their health or that of their unborn child.
For employees whose regular work would pose a danger
to their health while pregnant or that of their
unborn child, the employer has the duty on proof
of pregnancy to adapt working conditions to offer
them alternative employment during their pregnancy
and six months after the birth of the child.”
Francis said the act also seeks to protect young
persons and defines a young person as a child under
the age of 18. He said young persons who are to
be employed for more than three months must be
examined by a doctor to ascertain their fitness
for work.
Francis said the act also empowers the employee
by giving the worker the right to refuse a particular
job where he/she believes there is a serious danger
to him/her self or other employees. He said Osha
provides for the establishment of two entities,
the Occupational Safety and Health Authority and
the Occupational Safety and Health Agency.
Francis
said the authority’s role would
be the promotion of health and safety issues; arranging
for the conduct of research in this field; formulating
proposals for regulations under the act and advising
on the ministry’s organisational structure,
staff requirements and operations of the agency.
Francis said the Occupational Safety and Health
Agency is an enforcing body vested with legal powers
for its inspectors to access every industrial establishment
to require information needed to carry out investigations.
He said the agency can use its legal powers to
issue improvement and prohibition notices and effect
prosecution.
He said inspectors currently operate
under six sub units of the agency:
n Oil and gas
n Ports, chemical and petrochemical industries
n General manufacturing
n Construction and quarries
n Agriculture and services
n Occupational health
He said the agency will be encouraging and developing
collaborative partnerships with business in these
sectors in the first instance.
Francis said the government is also investing
funds to build capacity for Osha inspectors to
bring about enhanced services.
Story
by Adrian Boodan from
The Trinidad Guardian
The
Trinidad Guardian
Wednesday 14th November, 2007
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