By Robert A. Emmanuel
“A safe and healthy working environment is a fundamental principle and right at work.”
That is the theme for this year’s World Day for Safety and Health at Work which will be formally observed on April 28.
However, the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Department held its occupational safety and health forum yesterday.
Well attended by staff representatives from various private and public sector establishments, the seminar highlighted several topics, from the importance of health and wellness to mental health and coping with stress.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Joan Carrott, said the seminar was an opportunity to “consider the realities in our workplace and identify gaps between legal descriptions and the workplace realities”.
She said in her opening remarks, “We have a plethora of laws that champion the rights of employees and more specifically the right to work in a safe and healthy work environment; some of these laws need an update to meet the challenges of our current workplaces.”
The sessions focussed on coping with stress in the workplace, a review of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code, the importance of mental health, and coping mechanisms.
World Day for Safety and Health at Work is celebrated under the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) calendar every year on April 28.
One of the sessions led by the Deputy Labour Commissioner Pascal Kentish focused on fundamental rights at work and the ILO conventions, to which Kentish said that one of the questions that needed to be answered was whether all relevant ILO conventions were effectively implemented in workplaces.
He was speaking about Convention 155 which called for the ‘formulation of a national policy on occupational safety, health and the working environment’ and Convention 187 which calls for a ‘progressively safe and healthy working environment through a national system’.
This Friday, the Labour Department will host a march through the city of St John’s, which will culminate in a street fair.
