(CNS): Health Minister Katherine Ebanks‑Wilks recently updated parliament on the government’s workplace health and safety efforts, announcing the procurement of a centralised Health, Safety and Environment management software solution to support the broader HSE Management System and the implementation of a suite of standard operating procedures.
However, her statement offered few details on the slow progress of legislation, or how the reforms will be enforced across the wider civil service. The platform, which is being configured, will be piloted at the Department of Environmental Health (DEH). Ebanks-Wilks said the system will support incident reporting, hazard identification, inspections, corrective actions and analytics.
While the platform is intended to bring consistency and accountability, the minister did not address the fact that DEH has historically been one of the government’s most troubled departments for workplace safety, with repeated concerns raised over equipment failures, staffing shortages and hazardous working conditions. Nor did she explain how the system will be rolled out across other ministries or what timelines departments should expect.
The minister announced seven new HSE procedures covering incident escalation, PPE, risk management, inspections and reporting. Civil servants will receive training over the coming months. But again, no dates were provided for completion, and the statement did not clarify whether compliance will be mandatory or monitored.
Ebanks‑Wilks highlighted improvements at the Mosquito Research and Control Unit, where compliance with the HSE management system reportedly increased from 3% to 40% over two years. “That improvement demonstrates what can be achieved through sustained leadership, employee participation, clear systems and consistent follow‑through,” she said.
The minister also claimed the government “remains committed to advancing work towards primary workplace health and safety legislation supported by a modern regulatory framework”, but offered no timeline, draft or indication of when public consultation will begin.
The minister said 124 employees participated in a recent culture assessment and that the next phase will focus on “turning foundations into everyday practice”
Ebanks-Wilks added that progress will be measured by the improvements seen in workplaces, with hazards being identified earlier, near misses being reported, incidents being properly investigated, and corrective actions being completed in a timely manner.
“At the heart of this work are our employees, the dedicated people who diligently serve their country through their work. We want every person who comes to work in our departments each day to feel safe, to be properly equipped to do their job, and to have confidence that health and safety is taken seriously,” she said.
See the statement here.