Skip to playerSkip to main content
CCNTV6
  • 1 year ago
Did the 78 vacancies at the OSH Agency hamper its effectiveness in investigating and possibly preventing fatal accidents in the workplace? One Opposition MP asked the question in Parliament on Tuesday.

Category

🗞
News
Transcript
00:00The 180 vacant positions at the Labour ministry came up as a point of contention at the Standing
00:06Finance Committee's examination of the 2025 fiscal package.
00:12We have 91 with bodies and 89 without.
00:20So there's no attempt to fill the vacant positions and to promote those who are acting and so
00:30Yes, they are. We also have contract positions and we are in fact in tune with public administration
00:40and the whole revision of the public service and so on. So yes, we do have in mind to recruit
00:50aggressively next year to fill these vacant positions.
00:53Among those vacancies are 79 at the OSH board, another point of contention for Kuva South MP
01:00Rudranathan Dasing in light of the Paria tragedy which he believes may have been thwarted had
01:07there been sufficiently trained health and safety officers on staff.
01:11Do you think that there should be greater emphasis on the recruitment of health and safety
01:18inspectors in the context of focusing on deep sea diving and avoiding such a tragedy?
01:25I think you're really stretching all our goodwill this morning.
01:36I am not saying no, but member for Kuva South, it's a question for this exercise. I'm not saying
01:44what you're saying is not important. In any event, I rule that the question is out of order.
01:50A moot point challenged in Dasing.
01:53Madam Speaker, I think that we have to ventilate this. This is the place to ventilate.
02:01Occupational safety and health and recruitment of personnel.
02:06While member for Kuva South.
02:08Why my mic is being cut from making an intervention.
02:11I'm sure your mic is not being cut because I'm hearing you trying to
02:14talk above me. So I'm certain it's not anything with your mic.
02:19And I really, really regret that kind of imputation from that statement coming from you.
02:24I have ruled that the question is out of order.
02:27Off from the Paria tragedy, there were other points of reference for the opposition MP.
02:33Could you inform this house if indeed this shortage has impacted upon the agency's ability
02:45to complete its investigations into fatal accidents which occurred at Naikwan, Asilomital and Wasat?
02:55No. Let me just say that the agency is a big agency.
03:04And you may be referring to whether or not we have enough inspectors.
03:07And we do have sufficient inspectors.
03:10So do not take the 77 as only inspectors.
03:13There are people in HR.
03:14There are people in accounting.
03:16The ministry was allocated just over $411 million.
03:21Arvashi Tomori, Rippon Ryan, TV6 News.
Be the first to comment
Add your comment