Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, will shortly appoint a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the fatal accident involving Mr. Neptrid Hercules who was employed by BOSAI, Linden, Upper Demerara River.
This action is in keeping with Section 72 (1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Chapter 99:06 Laws of Guyana.
The Act gives the Minister the power to direct formal investigation into any accident arising out of and in the course of employment of any worker where he considers it expedient to so do.
Competent persons including an experienced mining engineer and a geologist will be appointed to serve on this commission with the main purpose “to determine the cause (s) of the accident and make recommendations for the prevention of accidents generally and more in particular the recurrence of similar accidents.”
Mr. Neptrid Hercules went missing in the early hours of the Saturday morning, March 11, 2023 along with the CAT D9T Dozer which he was operating at the time. This was as a result of a failure experienced by the Overburden Dump where he was working in the East Montgomery Mine, which caused them to be covered by the overburden material.
The body of Mr. Hercules was found several days later after an extensive and painful search.
The Minister is deeply concerned about this matter. He holds the view that this accident should never have occurred and he owes it to the family, co-workers and the community to ensure that there are no recurrences. Hence the appointment of the Commission of Inquiry, to provide answers to the numerous questions that abound and recommendations for implementation.
Meanwhile, the Occupational Safety and Health Department has instructed the company that the suspension of work activities in the middle dump of the Montgomery mine where the accident occurred should continue until a reassessment is done for the extraction of the Dozer.
