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On April 28, Guyana joins the international community to observe World Day for Safety and Health at Work. The observance, also known as World Day, was initiated by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and falls on the same day as the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers. The latter observance was organised worldwide by the trade union movement since 1996.
In 2003, the ILO began to observe World Day in order to focus attention on the prevention of accidents and diseases in the workplace. According to the ILO, “World Day for Safety and Health at Work is a significant tool to raise awareness of how to make work safe and healthy and of the need to raise the political profile of occupational safety and health.
“The annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April promotes the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. It is an awareness-raising campaign intended to focus international attention on the magnitude of the problem and on how promoting and creating a safety and health culture can help reduce the number of work-related deaths and injuries.”
The other observance on April 28, International Workers’ Memorial Day, also known as International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers, is an International Day of Remembrance and action for workers killed, disabled, injured, or made unwell by their work.
This observance was started in 1989 by the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisations (AFL–CIO) to honour working people killed and injured on the job.
April 28 was the date chosen by the AFL-CIO because it is the anniversary of the date that the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 went into effect in the United States, and when the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was formed in that country on April 28, 1971.
In Guyana, there is legislation designed to protect workers’ safety in the workplace. The primary law for this purpose is the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 1997 (OSH). The Act came into force on September 15, 1999. This Act provides for the registration and regulation of industrial establishments, for occupational safety and health, and other related matters. While local statistics are unavailable, Guyanese are aware, based on news reports, that workplace accidents are relatively common.
Workplace related illnesses such as may be caused by exposure to hazardous chemicals are not usually featured in the news in Guyana.
According to international statistics, about 340 million occupational accidents and 160 million victims of work-related illnesses are recorded annually. Worldwide figures reveal that occupational injuries are a commonplace occurrence, with 340 million occupational accidents happening every year.
