Government initiates fresh move to curb occupational hazards
Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige PHOTO: NAN
The Federal Government has launched the reviewed occupational safety and health inspection checklist in its bid to check occupational hazards in the workplace.
Speaking at the launch during an occasion to mark the 2016 commemoration of the World Day for Safety and Health at work in Abuja, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, emphasized the need for all the stakeholders to put all hands on deck towards eradicating social exclusion, poverty and achieving equitable inclusive and sustainable development that translates to a positive change.
He submitted that the theme of the campaign of the World Day for safety and health at work for the 2016, “Workplace Stress: A collective Challenge” is no doubt apt against the backdrop of stress at work becoming a common and costly problem in the workplace.
His words: “Today many workers are facing greater pressure in relation to the conditions and demands of modern working life. Beyond psychosocial risk factors, the workplace is becoming more stressful and work-related stress is now generally acknowledged as a global issue affecting all countries, all professions and all workers both in developed and developing countries. Recent researches have indicated that exposure to stressful working conditions (called work stressors) have a direct influence on workers safety and health.”
Senator Ngige stressed that with the focus of attention this year’s commemoration, government calls on active participant and collaboration of all stakeholders in the development and implementation of stress prevention programmes, adding that employers should assess the workplace for the risk of stress for its effective management and control.
The National Policy on Occupational Safety and Health stipulates the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare of all workers. This duty extends to protecting workers from the risk of harm from stressors at work.
On his part, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Clement Illoh represented by Mrs. Nofisat Arogundade the Director Occupational Safety and Health (OS&H) stated that the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that two million men and women lose their lives through accidents and diseases related to their work yearly and about 270 million occupational accidents and 160 million occupational diseases are recorded yearly.
He said: “The theme for this year speaks for itself; “Workplace Stress: A Collective Challenge,” as it tends to pronounce the high prevalence of stress factors in the workplace. Workplace stress cannot be overemphasized as it is now generally acknowledged as a global issue affecting all countries cutting across all professions both in the developed and developing countries. Therefore there is the need to create awareness to protect the health of all workers.”
In his remarks, the International Labour Organization (ILO) Country Director Mr. Dennis Zulu said that ILO over the years has ensured that all working men and women should be protected from injuries, diseases, including stress arising from the employment, saying this has influenced the ILO to focus on protection and protecting the well being of workers through improvement of the working conditions and working environment, to control work related diseases.
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3 Comments
Dear Dr Chris Ngige, you must understand that Hazard are in different forms with targeted audience from the officce of the Presidency, vice Presidency, Ministers of different degreees or Callings, Governors of State, Legitimate law makers like senators, House of representatives, the whole Body of the judiciary ,Court of law personnels, The corporate body of Nigeria Police Force in Various degree or order, from the local govt police,to state govt police, to federal police, What of other military Occupational or Health Hazards in nigeria What exactly are your immediate solution or budget and budgeting analysis for this category of Hazard, risk health, safety, or Environmental assessment, evaluations series before you take up Cost administrations or risk evaluation of the whole exercise?
secondly to step up actions on the targeted audience, could you set up working strategy on Company managing Directors,company supervisors or HOD, company workers of various degreees, medical practitioners, like Nurses, physicians, and other relevant safety officcers weith adequate trainings on professionalism of their job. Hello Bob could you Manage the Serious Environmental Hazards workers are going through on a dailly basis here in Nigeria ? vis a vis valid Controllers Measure
to different Hazards,?
Thirdly, Occupational health or hygiene is generalised as applied science concerned with the identifications, measurement, risk appraisal,and controls to acceptable standard of physical, chemical, and biological factors arising in or from the work place that may affects the health or well being of workers or the peoples there in that community both Negatively or positively, on reliable historical data occupational diseases of gold miners, petroleum workers, geologists, excavators, pilot engineers, civil enginneer,
medical doctors in the hospitals, are serious, and no attampt was made to protect workers from pathetic occupational diseases in Nigeria, some with chest problems,neurosis or accute headache, were ascribed to inhalation of dust, fumes, poisions by lead, phosphourous, crude oil gas, carbon monoxide that causes heart attack or sudden death of all these workers, Mr minister could you see your officce turning into death zone, based on Negligience of Duty or betterstill incompetence of personnels to corrects this anomarly in the life of Nigeria workers? There are several occupational harzards in your working environment, starting from chemical hazards, that constitute health problems to workers like poisionous gases,vapour,mist, dust, and solids waste stench that leads to inahalation, ingestion, or skin absorption problems, physical hazards like noise,vibrations,heat, cold, light,
ionizing and radiation,pressures with ultraviolet light, furthermore is the biological hazards in the forms of vectors or pathological biological agents as medical personnels, clinical officers or staff, cleaners or other workers in the hospital are exposed to communicateble diseases like tubercoulouses,cholera, typhoid fever, meaning that common mosquitos bacteria, viruses, enzymes or fungi, parasites could kill you. Ergonomica hazards are based on discomfort at work streess, and of course psychological problems arising from job insecurity, monotoiny work load per hour, poor boss surbordinate relationship
Your Excellency The honourable Minister of Labour and Employment Dr Chris Ngige, There are degrees of measurement to controls occupational hazards in category, assesment of hazards by specialist or expert, hazards evaluation series with relevant report to the appropriate officces or quarters, with detail dozzier account of hazards controls, risk to health matrix can clarify or even classifies exposure ratings to dearth or diseases The Goverment role, structure, strategy, policy, administrations on health safety environmental management system must comprise the Public corporations, Private corporations, institute, tertiary institution in Nigeria, Haven launched this projects to a veritable degree, a higher guiding factor for effective controls of hazards
are the leverage of your cost administrations, in benefit analysis, in the system of things, Matrix, control measures,etc are strictly under Financial Budget and Budgeting Programme for one financial year. The Provision of Materials,Personnels, enablement, for your programme requires advise from expert on this field,this could gulp 2Trillion Naira for the 36 states of federations, state categorically your parallelogram,alternatively, indices, intergres, statistics or data analysis to solves this problems in Nigeria,? Let me remind you of Occupational Hazards that killed Former President of Nigeria Musa Umaru Yaradua,
he died untimely death because of all this factors, will you died like that? The State of Health of Nigerians cannot be Compromise if you want Success in your Administrations,,,Examine Your President again President Muhammadu Buhari is Old
and aged now Check his Kidney , Heart or even Liver Functions, is he sound hale and hearty, can he withstand rigourous sessions like Bukola saraki that is Very Strong in Health Parlance,Lets pray this will not fall down Dead suddenly in officce in jesus Christ Name Amen. Nation Buildgings is not Complete without Good Health Measure for the General citizens of the people in that Nation,The workers maintain about 60% of the Population of Nigeria, then you set up strategy for 36 states of the federation,in 3 phases to enabkle your success in few years .
We will review and take appropriate action.