Joint Conference of the
International Assocation of Labour Inspection and the
International Labour Organization
Caribbean Sub-regional Training Workshop
on Labour Inspection in Agriculture,
Georgetown, Guyana
26-30 September 2005
Summary report
Programme
Monday, 26 September 2005
8.30 a.m.Opening Ceremony, including video: ILO Infocus
(separate programme)
9.30 a.m.COFFEE BREAK
10.15 a.m.(a)Introductions and Seminar Overview
(b)Brief Statements:
- Ms. Ann Herbert, Agriculture Specialist,
SECTOR, ILO Geneva
- Mr. Gerd Albracht,, Coordinator of Labour Inspection
Systems (Safework), ILO Geneva
- Mr. David Mattey, Independent Agricultural Health and
Safety Expert, United Kingdom
11.15 a.m.The Labour Administration Function and Labour Inspections
Mr. Samuel J. Goolsarran, Senior Specialist on Industrial
Relations and Labour Administration, ILO Sub-regional
office for the Caribbean
12.15 p.m.Video: The Face of Decent Work
12.30 p.m.LUNCH
1.45 p.m.Strengthening labour inspection systems
Mr. Gerd Albracht
Discussion
3.15 p.m.BREAK
3.30 p.m.Principles of publicity
Mr. David Mattey
Group Work
The EU agriculture campaign
Mr. David Mattey
5.15 p.m.Video
7.00 p.m.GOVERNMENT RECEPTION
Tuesday, 27 September 2005
8.30 a.m.Feedback
9.00 a.m.National profile for labour inspectorates and the “Scoreboard”
exercise
Mr. Gerd Albracht
10.30 a.m.BREAK
11.00 a.m.The OSH System and agriculture: the example of Great Britain
Mr. David Mattey
12.30 p.m.LUNCH
1.45 p.m.Concepts of hazard and risk, principles of risk assessment, labour
inspector’s process of measuring performance
Mr. David Mattey
Group work on risk assessment
3.15 p.m.BREAK
3.30 p.m.Feedback and discussion of group work
5.15 p.m.Video
Wednesday, 28 September 2005
8.30 a.m.Feedback
9.00 a.m.Machinery and transport safety
Mr. David Mattey
Group work
10.30 a.m.BREAK
11.00 a.m.The safe storage, transport and use of pesticides
Mr. David Mattey
Group work
12.30 p.m.LUNCH
1.45 p.m.Health risks from manual handling
Mr. David Mattey
Group work
3.15 p.m.BREAK
3.30 p.m.Safety and health in agriculture: Relevant ILO instruments
Ms. Ann Herbert
5.15 p.m.Video
Thursday, 29 September 2005
8.30 a.m.Field visits: Sugar and Rice Industries
Friday, 30 September 2005
8.30 a.m.Feedback
9.00 a.m.Analysis of questionnaires: Strategies for labour inspectorates
Mr. Samuel J. Goolsarran/Ms. Ann Herbert
10.00 a.m.BREAK
11.00 a.m.Video
11.15 a.m.Group work: The way ahead – how best to develop agriculture
inspection and intervention in participants’ own countries
Mr. Samuel J. Goolsarran/Ms. Ann Herbert
12.15 p.m.Presentations
12.45 p.m.Open discussion
Conclusions; Closing
Mr. Samuel J. Goolsarran
Ms. Ann Herbert
1.30 p.m.FELLOWSHIP LUNCH
Summary of proceedings
The conference was organized by the ILO Caribbean Office in collaboration with the Government of Guyana, and cost shared with ILO SafeWork (Geneva), ILO’s Regional Office (Lima) and IALI. Participants came from the following member states and overseas territories; The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, BritishVirginIsland, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, the Barbados Workers Union, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union, and the Guyana Rice Producers Association. There were 31 participants.
Mr. Trevor Thomas, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour Human Services and Social Security, who chaired the opening session, Samuel Goolsarran, Senior Specialist on Industrial Relations & Labour Administration, and the Hon. Bibi S. Shadick, Minister in the Ministry, addressed the participants and some fifty invited officials from the tripartite constituency.
Resource Persons:
Samuel Goolsarran, (SRO-POS) Ms. Ann Herbert, Agricultural Specialist (Sector), Mr. Gerd Albracht, Coordinator of Labour Inspection Inspections Systems (SafeWork) – ILO Geneva, Mr. David Mattey, Independent Agricultural Health and Safety Expert, United Kingdom served as resource persons and facilitators at the workshop.
The general objectives of the conference were to:
- Improve/provide new knowledge, skills, and techniques in OSH inspections;
- Promote and apply ILO Standards and principles in safety inspections;
- Review trends, developments, policies, organisation, strategies and practice in modern labour and safety inspections; and
- Strengthen labour inspections systems within the system of labour administration.
The program covered a variety of topics including labour administration functions and labour inspection, new trends in labour inspection and strengthening labour inspection systems, national profiles for labour inspectorates and how to develop a comparative scoreboard, ILO standards on labour inspection (ILO Convention Nos 81 and 129) and on safety and health in agriculture (Convention No. 184). The principal focus, however, was on safety and health in agriculture.
Specific interactive sessions were devoted to concepts of hazard and risk and the labour inspector's role in measuring performance; machinery and transport safety; safe storage, transport and use of pesticides; health risks from manual handling; the EU safety in agriculture campaign, and the OSH system for agriculture in the UK.
Mr. David Mattey, formerly Chief Inspector of Agriculture of the UK Health and Safety Executive, gave excellent presentations and skillfully guided these discussions. Participants rated most highly the practical guidance on risk assessment, the information on pesticides, and the opportunity to compare experiences among countries through small group discussion on various themes.
Field trips to a sugar plantation and sugar refinery as well as to rice fields and a rice mill gave the participants a chance to examine agricultural and agro-industrial processes first-hand and to put their new knowledge to work. The follow-up discussions demonstrated their capacity to apply their general experience as labour inspectors in this new area. During the final session, labour inspectors working in country teams developed a proposal for improving labour inspections in their own countries: how to get greater impact by using resources in a more strategic way.