Final report on project on study of occupational health legislation and regulations in the English-Speaking Caribbean

ABSTRACT

The need for occupational health and safety programmes at the workplace is increasingly being dictated by mushrooming industrialization throughout the Caribbean. Regrettably, occupational health legislation and regulation, which should guide these programmes and protect the health of workers, have failed to keep pace with the level of technology. Indeed statutory guidelines are deficient in most Caribbean countries as parameters and scope tend to be ill-defined and application piecemeal. Examination of the pieces of legislation was done to determine those with provisions for occupational health and safety. Companion regulations were either not made available or were found to be superficial in the treatment of the provisions of legislation by failing to provide standards which are measurable and not open to varying interpretation by all parties concerned. There is therefore an urgent need to address occupational health and safety through national policy which recognizes their importance to development and also, to prepare appropriate statutory guidelines for occupational health programmes, standards - TLVs, PELs, etc., training/education as well as participation of employees in occupational health and safety matters