The Labour and Manpower Planning Ministry on Thursday continued its nationwide “Putting Safety First in the Construction Sector” campaign with a construction safety seminar for employers, contractors, supervisors and workers in Region Four. Held at the Police Officers’ Mess annexe in Georgetown, the seminar forms part of the ministry’s ongoing effort to strengthen occupational safety standards and promote a culture of workplace safety across Guyana.

Labour and Manpower Planning Minister Keoma Griffith told the gathering that the initiative was developed to address the country’s approach to workplace safety through education and awareness. The campaign is being rolled out region-by-region to educate stakeholders on the importance of prioritising safety before moving into enforcement through workplace inspections.

“You may ask yourselves, ‘why are we doing this now?’ It has led me to understand that there are some issues in Guyana that we have to confront frontally, and one of them is our culture of safety and how we approach safety. Safety is everybody’s business,” the Minister stated.