The Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations Jone Usamate said Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) officials would be tasked to inspect the burned Morris Hedstrom (MH) warehouse site in Walu Bay, Suva.

“I think the smell impacted people’s health and if it is an issue, then we will get our staff at the OHS office to have a look at that, so I will get my staff to have a look at it to see whether it is a real health issue that affects the workers in the area,” Mr Usamate said.

He made these statements following the complaints made by residents and workers in the Walu Bay area regarding the persisting foul stench coming from the debris of the burned MH warehouse site.

In addition, Mr Usamate said nothing had been brought to him regarding what caused the MH warehouse fire.

But in terms of OHS, he said all employers should make sure that their workplace had a duty of care.

“They must make sure that their workplace is safe, I do not know what caused the fire because normally it was the responsibility of the employers in identifying all the risks and making sure they were addressed.”

He said that should be the case for every workplace in Fiji.

However, he confirmed that they would look into assessing the area in response to the complaints made by workers and residents living in the area.

Edited by Mohammed Zulfikar

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