LAST WEEKEND'S gas explosion at the Wexford Suites at SeaCastle Hotel in Montego Bay has thrown into sharp focus an apparent rise in the incidence of industrial accidents in Jamaica resulting in the loss of life and limb.
In recent months, there have been equipment malfunctions at sugar factories with two employees being killed, and in the Montego Bay case the explosion seriously injured three persons - Godfrey Dyer, past president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, Ann Marie Grouse, dining room supervisor, and Nadine Street.
While investigations into these incidents are ongoing, initial reports point to ignorance and inadequate communication rather than negligence as the main contributing factor.
In the United States, one of the most powerful Federal agencies is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which was established in 1971 and which sets standards for worker hazards. An important part of its mandate is ensuring that employers properly train their workers in safety procedures on the job.
The Factories Act in Jamaica covers some of the same ground, but we doubt that its provisions would apply to the circumstances which caused the Wexford Suites explosion. Jamaicans generally are perhaps not as aware of the dangers of gas explosions as many of their overseas counterparts, and since cooking with gas is the standard in the hotel industry we urge hoteliers to ensure proper training for staff.
As we understand it, a safety expert from the ILO in Geneva has been brought to Jamaica to investigate safety at our sugar factories and perhaps it is timely to tap into some aspects of OSHA's work and programmes in the field of workers safety.
It is time for greater attention to be paid to the potential hazards that can occur on the job and the immediate on the spot response that would be required. Systematic drills should be implemented in much the same way that staff in most places are required to participate in fire drills.
Careful maintenance procedures and ongoing worker training are two important ingredients necessary to cut down on industrial accidents and we urge the authorities to get employers, one way or the other, to give proper priority to the overall safety of the Jamaican workforce.
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