The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

THE Department of Labour said it halted unsafe work at four construction sites in western New Providence within the last two weeks after inspectors uncovered serious violations that placed workers in imminent danger, including unsecured scaffolding and employees working at heights without harnesses or approved fall protection.

The crackdown comes amid renewed concern over industrial accidents across The Bahamas, including the death of a construction worker who fell from a roof beam last month.

Sharan Moss, senior safety officer and supervisor of the Department of Labour’s Occupational Safety and Health Unit, said inspectors also found exposed reinforcing steel without protective caps, workers operating machinery without required personal protective equipment, missing fire extinguishers and first-aid kits, and no visible eyewash stations where required. Some sites also lacked mandatory safety signs at their entrances.

Workers who were not wearing the required protective equipment were immediately removed from the sites and barred from returning until they were properly equipped, she said.

Employers were instructed to ensure no worker enters a construction site without the required equipment and to verify at the beginning of each workday that employees are properly protected.

Follow-up inspections will determine whether the deficiencies have been corrected.

The Labour Department did not identify the four construction sites or disclose whether any employers face prosecution or other penalties.

Mrs Moss said the findings emerged during routine and unannounced inspections conducted under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

She said the recent industrial accidents across the country underscored the importance of rigorous workplace safeguards.

“Every workplace injury or fatality is one too many, and the Department remains steadfast in its commitment to preventing future workplace accidents through education, compliance, and enforcement,” she said.

The inspections followed the June 16 death of Rednel Joseph, a construction worker in his mid-20s who fell while walking along a roof beam at a site near Prince Charles Drive. His mother, Susie St Claire-Joseph, said she believed his death could have been prevented had he been secured with proper safety equipment.

The incident was one of several serious workplace accidents reported over the past year.

In January, a man in his 50s was killed after rubble collapsed around an excavator he was operating near the former Mario’s Bowling Alley building. Emergency crews spent about three hours trying to reach him before his body was recovered from beneath the debris.

On December 26, 2025, two separate industrial accidents were reported in Grand Bahama. One worker was found unresponsive at the container port and pronounced dead, while another suffered severe leg injuries after a large object reportedly fell on him aboard a vessel docked near the port. Earlier this month, a 31-year-old Russian man was seriously injured in an industrial accident aboard a vessel in waters near Bimini.

“These tragic incidents underscore the critical importance of maintaining the highest standards of occupational safety and health,” Mrs Moss said.

She warned employers that the Health and Safety at Work Act places a legal duty on them to provide and maintain safe and healthy workplaces.

Employees also have a responsibility to follow safety procedures and wear the required protective equipment, she said.

The department is also expanding training and enforcement capacity following The Bahamas’ ratification of International Labour Organisation Conventions 155 and 187, which concern occupational safety and health and the framework for promoting workplace protections.

Director of Labour Howard Thompson Jr said Labour Minister Pia Glover-Rolle instructed him to prioritise health and safety throughout the country after The Bahamas deposited its instruments of ratification with ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo in Geneva last month.

Mr Thompson said the department’s executive committee has redirected resources to the Occupational Safety and Health Unit and intensified training and capacity-building efforts.

The department hopes to expand the unit to 30 inspectors before the end of the year, he said.

Mrs Moss said the unit has conducted OSHA 10-hour and OSHA 30-hour construction safety courses, along with training in construction-site safety and inspections.

It recently partnered with the Bahamas Construction Association, led by president Leonard Sands, to participate in a fall-protection course delivered by Bahama Safety Solutions.

The department has also begun using drones to inspect and investigate high-risk construction activities.

Mrs Moss said the initiative was developed with retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Warren Johnson, a drone specialist. Drone demonstrations were conducted during recent field operations to help inspectors assess dangerous work from safer positions and strengthen enforcement.

She said the ratification of ILO Convention 155 reflected the country’s commitment to strengthening occupational safety and aligning workplace protections with international standards.