GOVERNMENT IS ENSURING that overcrowding in public sector buildings and other occupational safety and health issues in the public and private sectors are adequately resolved before enacting the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Minister of Labour Dr Esther Byer-Suckoo told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY this yesterday as she explained why the legislation which, among other things, was intended to promote work-life balance was yet to be passed.
“Our main concern with the Occupational Safety and Health Act is that Government as an employer has to be seen at the forefront of providing an adequate work environment for our employees. Some of the stressors include the physical conditions at work . . . but it is not just for Government,” she said.
Byer-Suckoo – who gave the interview after making remarks at start of the Managing Everyday Stress: Steps Towards Boosting Workplace Productivity seminar hosted by the Caribbean Tertiary Level Personnel Association, at The Savannah Hotel on Friday – said the Ministry of Labour’s occupational safetyand health department routinely examined and assessed problematic work situations in the public and private sectors.
“In fact, one of the main challenges we have in Government is not the quality of the workplace; the main challenge we have is the amount of physical space. There is a lot of overcrowding in some of our buildings . . . and that is why we are in the process of building new office buildings in Warrens, [St Michael]. (SR)
