UNC laments five deaths in industry

"This year has been the bloodiest for workers," said the UNC. The Opposi-tion hit the Govern-ment for failing to proclaim the Occu-pational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), which was passed by both Houses of Parliament 15 months ago. "So we are losing lives in the workplace while the PNM is fiddling with OSHA to satisfy the big business barons in their quest to get rich at the expense of the lives of workers."

The dead men are Shivam Harrylal who died in February at Industrial Gases Limited (IGL), Point Lisas; Sanjeev Ramper-sad who died in March at the Port-of-Spain Port; Marcus McDavid who died in March at the Port; Dale Paul who died in May at the International Steel Group; and Leon Jackman who died in June at the API pipeline site.

The point was underscored in a separate Labour Day message from Oropouche MP Dr Roodal Moonilal. He said, "Today we are witnessing atrocities in the killing fields of the heavy industrial sector."

According to the UNC MP, Government had failed to effect OSHA despite its obscene haste to close Caroni (1975) Limited and National Broadcasting Network (NBN).

"How many more young men must die in the heavy industrial sector before we can have proper safety and health laws in place?

"A fatal accident is not a natural occurrence but is always preventable." Moonilal added that stringent codes can cut workplace accidents.

"To this day we cannot get a public disclosure on the cause of death of Harrylal, Rampersad, McDavid and Jackman," Roodal said.

Had the OSHA been enforced, he said, there would have been a statutory requirement to disclose the cause of death and any action taken against companies for breaching their duty to their employees.

"Without the OSHA in force, employers are escaping from liability for corporate manslaughter. It is unacceptable that workers can be killed at the workplace and not one company or firm can be found guilty of safety crimes," Roodal said.