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Minister of Labour and Social Security, Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo

Occupational safety and health will be top priority tomorrow at the Barbados Light and Power Company Ltd. (BL&P) and several other workplaces, when businesses commemorate World Day for Safety and Health at Work.

Held every year on April 28, Barbados will observe the day, tomorrow, April 27 to avoid any conflict with National Heroes Day.

BL&P will host an "Identify the blind spot" exercise for its truck drivers and an Occupational Safety and Health Road Safety lecture as part of its activities.

Both events will take place at BL&P headquarters at Garrison Hill, Bay Street, St. Michael.?? The "Identify the ???blind spot" exercise will start at 8:30 and end at 10:00 a.m., while the Occupational Safety and Health Road Safety lecture will commence at 2:30 and finish at 3:30 p.m.

Senior Occupational Safety and Health Officer at the Labour Department, Alison Elcock, stated that the Labour Department had chosen to endorse the company’s events.???? She indicated that driver safety was paramount and that while drivers were not consigned to an office, working in a safe environment and under safe conditions should also extend to the equipment and vehicles workers used while on the job.

Environmental Health and Safety Officer at the BL&P, Brian Reece, also stressed the importance of road safety, especially for the company’s truck operators.?? He noted that worldwide, several work-related traffic accidents were recorded annually, and the BL&P saw the ???blind spot’ testing exercise as critical, not only to reducing injuries while on the job, but also in helping to create safer roads on the island.

In addition, REA Envirohealth International, in association with the International Labour Office’s Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean, will host a free seminar tomorrow, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St. Michael.??

Scheduled to commence at 9:00 a.m. and conclude at 1:00 p.m., discussions will centre on safeguarding the health and safety of employees in a green workplace environment.??

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo, will deliver the feature address at the start of the event.?? She will speak about the role of the Safety and Health at Work Act 2005 in ensuring worker protection within a green economy.

Other speakers include REA Envirohealth International’s Occupational Hygienist, Harold Oxley.?? He will address Promoting safety and health in a green economy: The need for enabling legislation and development of a safety culture in the workplace.

shamkoe.pile@barbados.gov.bb

Author: Shamkoe Pil??

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