The oil and gas and aviation sectors are to be included in an “alliance” created by the Ministry of Social Protection in an effort to curb the incidence of accidents in the various sectors, Minister in the Ministry of Social Protection Keith Scott told the National Assembly in his post-budget presentation earlier this week.
While the presentation proffered no details regarding the structure of the alliance and how it will function Scott said that the alliance already includes the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, (GGMC), the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and the Forestry Department to better monitor safe work practices in remote areas” and has now been extended to include the Ministry of Natural Resources. A further extension, he said, will embrace “the offshore enterprises and those agencies involved in the aircraft industry,” Scott said in his presentation.
The disclosure by Scott came against the backdrop of what Scott said was government’s concern with the number of workplace fatalities that have occurred, particularly in the mining sector, “in recent times.” While no statistics were provided on mining sector accidents for the current year, Scott disclosed that for the year so far a total of 506 “industrial accidents” had occurred resulting in 19 fatalities. “This is an untenable situation particularly in the mining sector where the majority of the fatalities occurred,” Scott said.
