Department of Public Information, Guyana

Tag: Gweneth King

  • Another 45 local companies certified through HSSE programme

    Another 45 local companies certified through HSSE programme

    The Centre for Local Business Development has awarded another 45 local companies for the successful completion of the Health Safety Security Environment (HSSE) Management System programme.

    During the event at the Pegasus Suites and Corporate Centre at Kingston, Georgetown, on Wednesday, Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Consultant at the Ministry of Labour, Gweneth King commended the centre for its efforts in fostering a culture of safety and health in workplaces nationwide.

    GTA Director, Kamrul Baksh

    King highlighted that the HSSE programme facilitated by the Centre for Local Business Development augments the work that is being done by the labour ministry’s OSH unit.

    “I’m pleased to see there is continuity in this regard and it surely augers well for the working people and the Government of Guyana. I would like to encourage employers and workers to work together to promote a safe and healthy culture in their respective workplaces,” she underscored. 

    Further, King encouraged all enterprises to establish functioning workplace safety and health committees in keeping with the OSH Act.

    Occupational Safety and Health Consultant, Gweneth King
    Representatives of three certified tour operators
    A section of the gathering during the award ceremony
    Companies that were awarded during the Centre for Local Business Development ceremony
    One of the Awardees

    Meanwhile, three tour operators were among the awardees.

    Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Kamrul Baksh urged them to be change agents within the tourism community so that other stakeholders will become HSSE certified.

    “We are integrating these protocols within our licensing system, so that it’s seamless and not disjointed where just a few businesses have the HSSE certificate and manual, but it’s actively part of the practices and policies within the tourism authority regulatory system,” Baksh noted.

    He stressed the importance of being able to distinguish businesses that have the HSSE management systems from those that do not.

    “And we must actively drive business to those that have the HSSE systems in place,” the director proffered.

    The Centre for Local Business Development’s HSSE Management System Programme was established in 2019. Some 25 companies were certified in 2021 and another 30 in 2022.

    The programme offers a comprehensive tool for companies to reach their HSSE goals and raise their standards to fit industry needs and requirements.

  • OSH seminar seeks to reduce work deficit in informal economy

    OSH seminar seeks to reduce work deficit in informal economy

    DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, October 04, 2017

    The Ministry of Social Protection (MOSP) in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Wednesday, began a two-day workshop on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) for the informal economy. The seminar is being hosted at the Herdmanston Lodge.

    Ariel Pino, Specialist in Social Protection & OSH Office of the Decent Work Team & Caribbean Office, ILO, Trinidad and Facilitator of Workshop.

    The workshop will teach Occupational Health and Safety trainers how to conduct sensitisation programmes in the informal economy. There will be a focus on the agriculture, construction as well as the services sectors.

    Ministry of Social Protection, OSH Consultant, Gweneth King, explained that the ILO has been working with developing countries to transform the informal economy to a formal one.

    “It has been found that in developing countries, the informal economy provides considerable employment which in many instances is linked to poor conditions of work, and therefore workers lack protection and are exposed to poor conditions and working environments. This workshop marks the beginning of a process to build our capacity so that we will be able to effectively sensitise workers in the sectors,” King said.

    Facilitator of the workshop, Ariel Pino, highlighted in 2016, the ILO approached Guyana to address issues in the informal economy. He noted with the Labour Department’s expansion in the informal economy, this initiative will benefit those in that sector.

    “We know that we can contribute to that and reduce the recent work deficits that the informal sector has. I am not saying the formal sector enjoys plenty of the decent work benefits, but those who are in the informal sector are clearly more affected by deficits of the work,” Pino said.

    Francis Caryl, Industrial Relations Consultant, MOSP at the OSH training workshop for the informal economy.

    Meanwhile, Industrial Relations Consultant, MOSP, Francis Caryl revealed that the agriculture, construction and services sectors have attracted a great deal of informality while noting it oftentimes led to a disservice in social protection, labour management relations and safety.

    “Because they are informal, they are not getting the kind of scrutiny that is deserved and the unfairness continues on a very large scale,” Caryl said.

    However, he noted, it is the objective of the government in conjunction with the ILO to not only reduce such cases but to eliminate them completely.

    Participant, Patricia Woolford, expressed her satisfaction with the workshop. “This workshop is very important and it is integral to improving the working conditions of all the workers in Guyana.”

    Participants were drawn from the Ministry of Social Protection, Guyana Trades Union Congress, School of Agriculture, National Insurance Scheme, The Pesticide and Toxic Chemicals Control Board, to name a few.

    Ten sensitisation sessions are expected to be conducted over the next two months in various communities.

     

    By: Crystal Stoll

    Patricia Woolford, Participant at the OSH training workshop for the informal economy.

    Gweneth King, OSH Consultant, MOSP at the OSH delivering remarks at the workshop for the informal economy.

     

    Participants representing the various informal sectors at the OSH training workshop for the informal economy.