PM Briceno Speaks on Approval of Occupational Safety and Health Bill

Prime Minister John Briceno says greenlighting of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Bill was months in the making. Last week, the government approved amendments to the bill to establish a comprehensive legal framework dedicated to ensuring the safety and health of workers. The key objectives encompass delineating responsibilities for both workers and employers and bolstering safety within the workplace. On Saturday, PM Briceno spoke about the progressive step and its significance.

Hon. John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “We have already committed to the OSH Bill but what happened is that there were still some – we had to be able to tighten the bill so that it can be able to work in Belize as opposed to have something that’s imposed on us from abroad. So after extensive consultations, including with the unions and the private sector we believe now we have a bill that can be presented at the National Assembly and that can be able to work and to be able to provide protection for our employees, for our Belizean workers and at the same time it’s going to be a piece of legislation that also the private sector will be able to afford.”

The OSH Bill was initially presented to the Cabinet in January 2011 and subsequently referred to the Public Service, Labour, Industry, and Trade Committee of the House of Representatives in January 2014.