PM: OSHA Act by February 17

The relentless campaign for the implementation of OSHA has paid off. Prime Minister Patrick Manning yesterday committed his Government to passing an amended, implementable OSHA Act by February 17. The PM also gave the undertaking that those sections of the current OSHA Act which could be implemented immediately, would be proclaimed by Friday. Manning and representatives of Natuc held a joint press conference at Whitehall. The PM said that Government and Natuc agreed at a meeting on Monday that the act should be examined (by the Attorney General) to see if there are sections which could be proclaimed immediately, and to determine what sections of the act need to be amended. Manning said the two sides also agreed that the (new) bill would be enacted by February 17.

Manning said AG John Jeremie began reviewing the act on Monday, and he expects to have his views by the end of yesterday on what sections of the Act could be proclaimed immediately. The PM said the Cabinet would consider proposals for the amendment of the act at its regular meeting tomorrow. “If the Cabinet approves these proposals, then we can move expeditiously to have appropriate amendments introduced into the Parliament at the earliest opportunity. We may just be able to get it in there for Friday ( sitting of Parliament). If not, then it would be the next week and there is always the option of a special sitting,” he said.

Asked if it was possible to proclaim part of an act, Manning said the meeting based its decision on the assumption that  it can be done. “The Attorney General will tell us whether it can be done, but we think it can be done,” he said. He said the part of the act that required amendment needed to be passed with only a simple majority. Manning could not pinpoint the exact offending sections of the act, however. Asked why it took Government so long to move on OSHA, (after the bill was passed in Parliament since 2003), Manning said there were three different ministers of labour. (The first minister of labour, Larry Achong, resigned amid controversy.)

“And that is part of the problem. The current Minister of Labour had been on the job for months, and of necessity must be given a chance to review the work done thus far. But at the end of the day all’s well that ends well.” Manning said there were ongoing discussions between the Government and Natuc, and that OSHA was just one of the issues being addressed.  BWIA is also on the agenda. The Prime Minister said he also met with Errol McLeod, head of Fitun, on the OSHA and other matters. He added that he proposed to come to an arrangement (for regular meetings) with this organisation as well. Manning said it would have been nice if there was unity in the labour movement.

“But it is not so. It makes life a little more uncomfortable, but it is workable and manageable,” he said. Natuc President  Robert Giuseppi said one thing that came out of the negotiations — apart from the agreement on a social dialogue policy and the agreement that action would be taken to ensure workers health and safety are protected —  was the discovery that the PM is a very good negotiator.