Remote Worker Safety among Issues Needed in Labor Law Update

Dennis Zulu

I.L.O. Caribbean Director Zulu honed in on the need for revised labour laws in Belize to meet with the demands of the time. He spoke on areas in which Belize’s labour laws fail to address COVID realities, as well as occupational safety concerns. This is one of the areas the I.L.O. has committed to offer assistance to Belize.

Dennis Zulu, Director, International Labor Organization Caribbean

“One of the things, in having discussed this with both the workers and the employers, I think there is obviously need for some look,–and I believe government has put this forward– in terms of looking at the labor laws of this country to make them, obviously it has been a while the labor laws has been reviewed, but it gives us an opportunity to look at how we can support Belize to update its labor laws. The labor market changes rapidly these days. The issues that come out of COVID for example, remote working, how do we cover our workers from home in terms of occupational safety? What are the rights of workers working from home, you know things like that. So, the labor laws really has to be looked at and I am delighted to hear from the employers, workers and government that there is work going towards this. I think this is a great opportunity to incorporate issues of occupational safety. As you know, COVID has re-highlighted to importance of occupational health and safety, social protection and all these other things. So, for me that sticks out because it is an opportunity for us to bring Belize up to speed in terms of labor law should be.”