Consultation on occupational safety next week

The National Occupational Health and Safety Committee is holding an entire week of consultations beginning next Monday to get feedback from the business community on the draft for a new law which will govern occupational safety and health in Belize, something we currently do not have. News 5 spoke with Phillip Waight, a member of the committee, about the meetings and which sectors should attend.

Philip Waight, Safety Engineer, B.E.L.

“Well we are looking for input from everyone because occupational safety is not only high risk. Yes, high risk is at the top of the ladder, but it covers the entire working spectrum. We feel that the occupational safety and health is not designed to address only high risk. We want high medium and low risk, so we hope that both employers and employees and everybody concerned, students and all, to come and participate.”

A Canadian consultant, provided by the Regional Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, CERSSO, has assisted with the development of the draft, which Waight says must now be adapted to the Belizean work environment. The national consultations begin on Monday in Belize City at nine a.m. at the Radisson. On Tuesday, they will be at the Independence Community Centre in the morning and the Parish Hall in Punta Gorda in the afternoon, at the George Price Centre in Belmopan on Wednesday, and at the B.S.I. Staff Club in Orange Walk on Thursday, and back again at the Radisson on Friday.