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Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, said the ministry will shortly appoint a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to investigate the fatal accident involving Mr. Neptrid Hercules who was employed by BOSAI, Linden, Upper Demerara River.
The minister’s action is in keeping with Section 72 (1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Chapter 99:06 Laws of Guyana.
The Act gives the Minister the power to direct formal investigation into any accident arising out of and in the course of employment of any worker where he considers it expedient to so do.
Competent persons including an experienced mining engineer and a geologist will be appointed to serve on this commission with the main purpose “to determine the cause (s) of the accident and make recommendations for the prevention of accidents generally and more in particular the recurrence of similar accidents.”
Mr. Neptrid Hercules went missing in the early hours of the Saturday morning, March 11, 2023 along with the CAT D9T Dozer which he was operating at the time. This was as a result of a failure experienced by the Overburden Dump where he was working in the East Montgomery Mine, which caused them to be covered by the overburden material.
The body of Hercules was found Tuesday, March 14, four days later.
Trade unionist Lincoln Lewis had earlier told this publication accidents do not happen they are caused, and one gets the impression that equal attention was not placed on finding the person.
“I am taken aback that such an incident occurred, and it took the authorities so many days to locate the machine and operator, ” Lewis said.
The trade unionist told this publication he questioned the length of time taken to find the person. Lewis, who worked in bauxite, said he worked at the said during the developmental stage in the 1970s and was well illuminated.
According to him there was always adequate lighting in two forms “One, from lamp post placed alongside the road, and two, lighting plants that were placed at the waste dumps and in the mining pit.”
Lewis told this publication he is questioning the length of time taken to find the person.
The trade unionist, who was a miner and worked in bauxite, said he worked at the same Montgomery Mines during the developmental stage in the 1970s and it was well illuminated.
According to him, there was always adequate lighting in two forms “One, from lamp post placed alongside the road, and two, lighting plants that were placed at the waste dumps and in the mining pit.”
He said where a bulldozer operated at nights, during developmental or work on the dump there was always a person there standing and giving direction to the bulldozer operator.
“I am taken aback that such an incident occurred, and it took the authorities so many days to locate the machine and operator, ” Lewis said.
According to the trade unionist, accidents do not happen they are caused, and one gets the impression that equal attention was not placed on finding the person. Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton told Demerara Waves Online News the bulldozer was first located and then the body was found.
Lewis did say he wanted to see what action will be taken by the Ministry of Labour consistent with the law.
According to the minister, having announced the CoI He holds the view that this accident should never have occurred and he owes it to the family, co-workers and the community to ensure that there are no recurrences. Hence the appointment of the CoI, to provide answers to the numerous questions that abound and recommendations for implementation.
Meanwhile, the Occupational Safety and Health Department has instructed the company that the suspension of work activities in the middle dump of the Montgomery mine where the accident occurred should continue until a reassessment is done for the extraction of the dozer.
