1,100 investigations by OSH Agency in one-year period

She said with the addition of more staff she expects to see an improvement in its productivity “and thus continue to disprove some statements, somewhat misleading, concerning the commitment of the State to safeguard the safety and health interests of workers in this country.” Baptiste-Primus was speaking at the launch of National Occupational Safety and Health Week 2017 at the Bureau of Standards in Macoya.

Chairman of the board of the OSH Agency Dr. Victor Coombs also commented on workplace accidents saying that from October 2015 to September 2016 there have been seven deaths and 15 critical injuries at workplaces. He said those numbers have already been exceeded between October 2016 and now with 11 fatalities and 44 critical injuries being recorded. He said there had been no fatalities and one critical injury in the same period in Tobago. He asked those assembled to observe a minute of silence for the workers who died in those incidents.

Coombs said a research project involving the agency’s inspectorate, research and legal departments had uncovered more than 800 accidents which had not been reported and these were expected to generate approximately $16 million for the State. He said while the agency’s main purpose is not to produce revenue for the Government, one of its main tasks is to ensure employers comply with the OSH Act to provide safe and healthy workplace conditions.

He remarked that OSH has been able to sensitise stakeholders on the legal requirements to report accidents at the workplace.

The theme for the week is Optimise the collection and use of OSH data: Strengthening the foundation of a prevention culture.

Baptiste-Primus said this country was not yet known for its reliance on data but that she herself is someone who is driven by data. She said she uses data as her guide in decision-making, adding that it is only when safety and health becomes deeply ingrained in the psyche of the people that this country will be able to achieve the goal of having safe and healthy work environments.

She praised the board of the OSH Agency for the volume of work it has been able to achieve in the short time it has been in place.

She said the ministry is supporting the OSH Agency in the development of a National OSH policy which will have the input of the tripartite stakeholders and will seek to establish what is necessary for an OSH prevention culture. She said the policy will ensure a seamless standard for the development and enforcement of OSH regulations, articulate reporting relationships and outline how information will be managed.

She said according to the International Labour Organisation, a national policy is an important element of any notification or recording system. She said the policy should establish standards on recording, notification and investigation of occupational accidents and diseases, record investigation of commuting accidents, dangerous occurrences and incidents and the compilation, analysis and publication of statistics on such accidents, diseases and occurrences.

She said such a policy will not only be a progressive advance in safety and health, but will also bring the country in line with international standards of data capture and analysis and help Trinidad and Tobago create a more meaningful legal infrastructure and fulfil its international obligations.

However, she said that for the policy to work effectively, the Agency will not be able to rely only on the data collected from its investigations but must make use of the vast store of information held by public and private agencies.

Minister of Labour and Small Enterprise Development, Jennifer Baptiste-Primus.