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Government warns employers against exposing workers to occupational hazards

By Collins Olayinka
11 April 2016   |   11:12 pm
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige has warned employers of labour against exposing their workers to occupational hazards.
Dr Chris Ngige

Dr Chris Ngige

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige has warned employers of labour against exposing their workers to occupational hazards.

He stressed that the federal ministry of labour and employment would no longer tolerate the violation of legislations on industrial safety and health by construction companies and other employers of labour.

He added that the ministry is already working on reviewing and strengthening the Factories Act and subsidiary legislation towards the promotion of all-inclusive occupational safety and health protection.

Ngige stated this in Abuja recently when he received the executive members of the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria (IPSON), led by its National President Dr. Nnamdi Ilodiuba in his office.

He said: “Whatever your profession is, you need to be alive to work; Employers must provide for the safety of its workers. These were issues neglected in the past, but as long we are in this Ministry we are going to reinvigorate the system using Factories Acts and its subsidiary legislations to promote decent work in line with standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO).”

Speaking further he urged the Institute to collaborate with the Ministry in the on-going review of the National Policy on Occupational Safety and Health and the development of the National Profile.

The Minister emphasized that professionalism in Occupational Safety and Health practices in Nigeria should be regulated through the Institute that admit only professionals and ensure that they work in accordance with ethics of the profession.

His words: “We need an Institute that will be able to support professional practice of Safety and Health; making sure that only competent persons in the field are admitted to practice as professionals.”

Earlier in his remark, the National President of the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria (ISPON), Dr. Nnamdi disclosed that the purpose of the visit was to review the relationship between the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Institute with the aim of building a more robust, fruitful and sustainable relationship in the National Occupational Safety and Health system.

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