Labour minister outlines new regulations to accompany the SHaW Act

Some aspects of the Safety and Health at Work Act (SHaW) are being clarified to reduce misinterpretation.
Minister of Labour and Industrial Relations Colin Jordan said the vagueness of some of the laws contained in the SHaW act had left employers to their own interpretations and employees confused as to their rights under the legislation.
Speaking to members of the media on Friday morning during a press conference at the Barbados Water Authority’s headquarters in the Pine, Jordan said to address this, several regulations have been put in place to accompany the act to “reduce the opportunities for misinterpretation and also opportunities for abuse”.
The minister spoke specifically on the Right to Refuse Dangerous Work outlining that serious health hazards are defined as “a potential source of significant danger to the health of an employee, which may cause life threatening, irreversible or long-term impacts, but is not limited to an occupational disease”.
“The regulation also speaks to the fact that the right to refuse dangerous tasks has certain exemptions. You can imagine that a police officer, for example, could not say ‘I am not doing that because somebody may throw a rock at me, and that will cause me danger’.
“But also if you work in a hospital or clinic, or any facility providing healthcare, if you’re looking after the elderly, if you’re looking after children, there are certain scenarios where you have to put yourself in harm’s way to protect those who are very much less able to do it for themselves,” he said.
The minister said the regulation also outlines the complaint process and timeframes for investigations into the matters.
“Investigations have to begin immediately on a report and if it is not settled at the company level, then it can go to the Chief Labour Officer who, within two working days, starts a process. After the investigation is complete, an oral and written report has to follow within two weeks so that there is closure to the situation,” he said.
(JB)Some aspects of the Safety and Health at Work Act (SHaW) are being clarified to reduce misinterpretation.
Minister of Labour and Industrial Relations Colin Jordan said the vagueness of some of the laws contained in the SHaW act had left employers to their own interpretations and employees confused as to their rights under the legislation.
Speaking to members of the media on Friday morning during a press conference at the Barbados Water Authority’s headquarters in the Pine, Jordan said to address this, several regulations have been put in place to accompany the act to “reduce the opportunities for misinterpretation and also opportunities for abuse”.
The minister spoke specifically on the Right to Refuse Dangerous Work outlining that serious health hazards are defined as “a potential source of significant danger to the health of an employee, which may cause life threatening, irreversible or long-term impacts, but is not limited to an occupational disease”.
“The regulation also speaks to the fact that the right to refuse dangerous tasks has certain exemptions. You can imagine that a police officer, for example, could not say ‘I am not doing that because somebody may throw a rock at me, and that will cause me danger’.
“But also if you work in a hospital or clinic, or any facility providing healthcare, if you’re looking after the elderly, if you’re looking after children, there are certain scenarios where you have to put yourself in harm’s way to protect those who are very much less able to do it for themselves,” he said.
The minister said the regulation also outlines the complaint process and timeframes for investigations into the matters.
“Investigations have to begin immediately on a report and if it is not settled at the company level, then it can go to the Chief Labour Officer who, within two working days, starts a process. After the investigation is complete, an oral and written report has to follow within two weeks so that there is closure to the situation,” he said.
(JB)