Employers in Barbados have embraced the Government’s new Safety and Health at Work Regulations.
Director of the Barbados Employers’ Confederation (BEC) Sheena Mayers-Granville said on Wednesday that the Safety and Health at Work (Amendment) Bill which was debated in the House of Assembly on Tuesday was something the business sector had been requesting for some time now.
“We have no concerns with the amendment. We have been asking for regulations since the Act was passed and then years later proclaimed. So in our numerous conversations, we have asked for regulations over the years. We are very happy to see some progress toward those regulations coming on stream,” Mayers-Granville told Barbados TODAY.
The spokesperson for local employers acknowledged that her members had been consulted on the measures and they now look forward to seeing them implemented.
“Since the SHAW [Safety and Health] Act was passed back in 2005, we at the BEC, supported by our member companies have repeatedly called for regulations to support the Act. Therefore, we are eager to have these regulations implemented, as they will lend clarity to some grey areas that we have highlighted in numerous consultations with Government,” she said.
The BEC director also stated that the regulations will assist businesses across the island in managing health and safety at work.
“We also consider the newer forms of working that have become more prominent, since the onset of the pandemic. We note that occupational safety and health will be essential in these new forms of work,” Mayers-Granville added.
“Employers must consider and ensure that employees are trained and have the necessary awareness of safety and health while working from home as well. The BEC continues to support employers in these areas, where possible, through the development of safety policies and sensitisation for staff,” she suggested.
When he piloted the Bill before the Lower House, Minister of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector Colin Jordan urged Barbadians to become “inspectors of workplaces” in an effort to ensure that businesses provide safe environments for workers and customers. Minister Jordan said Government was moving toward having businesses display a certificate from the Chief Fire Officer, showing that the building was in compliance with safety regulations. He said the certificate would have to be displayed in a “prominent place” allowing persons to be able to determined if a business was in compliance.
Jordan recalled the deadly fire at the Campus Trendz Boutique on Tudor Street in The City in 2010 when six young women perished.
“We want, and this is very deliberate, we want Barbadians to go into workplaces and be looking for a fire certificate. We want Barbadians when they don’t see a fire certificate to raise cane, to raise hell, holler hard. That is what we want because we want businesses to be compliant, and with the best will in the world and with all the resources in the world, we are not going to be able to inspect every single workplace on a continuing basis,” he insisted.
He said the amendment is just one of a suite of changes proposed. According to him clarity will also be given to some “grey areas” as they relate to the right of employees to refuse dangerous tasks while at work.
The labour minister also revealed that the issue of having bathrooms for men and women at workplaces, employers providing PPE equipment for workers as well as medical checkups for those employees working in hazardous environments, would also be addressed in the amendments.
