Sunday, April 28 was the World Day for Safety and Health at Work and today is Workers Day, with global themes for both days bordering on safety and health at work in a changing climate. YEJIDE GBENGA- OGUNDARE reports that while Nigeria joins other countries to commemorate these days, laws promulgated for safety of workers are still ineffective due to lack of effective enforcement and apathy.
On September 25, 2015, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted and it encompasses a global plan of action with specific targets to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. And it is said that with its adoption, the capacity to collect and utilise reliable OSH data became indispensable for countries to fulfill their commitment to implement and report on some of the agenda’s 17 sustainable development goals and their targets.
But in spite of this, published reports indicate that daily, 6,300 people die as a result of occupational accidents or work-related diseases with more than 2.3 million deaths per year and 317 million accidents occur on the job annually; many of these, resulting in extended absences from work making the human cost of this daily adversity, vast.
Indeed, the economic burden of poor occupational safety and health practices is estimated at four per cent of global Gross Domestic Product each year. And this is the reason the World Day for Safety and Health at Work is celebrated on April 28 annually and Workers’ Memorial Day is focused on safety in work places.
The theme for World Day for Safety and Health at Work celebrated on Sunday was climate change and safety and health at work. While the theme for Worker’s day being commemorated today is safety and health at work in a changing climate, with the aim of raising awareness and educating people about the importance of safe, healthy, and proper working environments. In addition, the International Trade Union Confederation’s (ITUC) theme for Workers’ Memorial Day 2024 is ‘climate risks for workers.’
According to the International Labour Organisation on its official website, “As climate change intensifies, workers around the globe find themselves at an increased risk of exposure to hazards such as excessive heat, ultraviolet radiation, extreme weather events, air pollution, vector-borne diseases and agrochemicals.”
Safety Day was first celebrated by the ILO in 2003 and since then it has become a global celebration to promote the prevention of work-related accidents for both individuals and organisations. In June 2022, the International Labour Conference (ILC) decided to include ‘a safe and healthy working environment’ in the ILO framework of fundamental principles and rights at work, according to ILO.
The national occupational safety and health culture is also regarded as one in which the right to a safe and healthy working environment is respected at all levels, where governments, employers and workers actively participate in securing a safe and healthy working environment through a system of defined rights, responsibilities and duties as well as where the highest priority is accorded to the principle of prevention.
On Monday, the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) called for proactive measures to safeguard the safety and well-being of workers at workplaces across Nigeria, noting that it has, in pursuit of the Safety at Work Agenda, conducted 5,592 occupational safety and health activities at various workplaces across the nation in the last year.
Speaking at an event organized to mark the 2024 World Day for Safety and Health at Work, the Managing Director of the NSITF, Maureen Allagoa Esq, said the agency is fully committed to creating safe, healthy, and sustainable workplaces for all Nigerian workers.
“The prevention of workplace accidents through robust occupational safety and health (OSH) programs is the first step in the dynamic process of Employees’ Compensation. OSH is the primary charge in our responsibilities as the nation’s apex social security organization. We have pursued this life-saving process with all vigor since I assumed office about a year ago. The reason is that a well-managed NSITF anchors strongly on accident prevention rather than on rehabilitation, payment of claims, or compensations, which may be inversely proportional to the failure of occupational safety activities. Our target, therefore, is to intensify efforts and double the figure by this time next year.
“Broken down, this figure shows that between May 2023 and April 2024, our agency, which is ever committed to the improvement of safety and health in the world of work, conducted a total of 3,234 occupational health and safety audits, a total of 1,614 awareness and enlightenment campaigns, and 744 follow-ups on cases in various workplaces across the federation, using our 12 regional and 57 branch offices. We are geared to do more,” she added.
Gaining traction
In recent years, the subject of occupational health in Nigeria has gained more audiences with both employees and their employers and workplace wellness is no longer a choice as it is essential for ensuring maximum productivity and preserving lives and property.
Occupational health and safety cover the physical, mental, and social well-being of people at work, including issues such as stress prevention, human resource development, and rehabilitation. The country has a regulatory framework that comprises laws and regulations enacted by the Federal Government regarding occupational health and safety.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) in its 2021 publication estimates that 2.78 million lives are lost per year due to an occupational and work-related illness. There are also 374 million non-fatal work-related injuries every year. Productive manpower hours are wasted due to workplace hazards, estimated at 3.94 percent of the gross Domestic Product each year.
A 2006 report by the International Labour Organisation showed that far more people die prematurely from work-related illnesses. One hundred thousand workers die due to work-place accidents in the construction sector alone every year. These hazards are well known and completely preventable. The reason they keep recurring is because of the failure to manage risk and deliberate negligence on the part of the employers.
While there are laws that protect workers from hazardous work environment, enforcement is hardly pursued and as a result, prosecution for negligence hardly occurs, with stakeholders pointing out that the lack of political will is a major challenge.
A labour rights activist, Mabel Onimisi, stated that “the major challenge is government’s passive attitude towards employers who do not regard health and safety laws, even when such negligence leads to the demise of an employee especially in cases of foreign nationals operating in Nigeria; they are known to operate unsafe work environments which have led to loss of lives and limbs. And they get away with it, what they cannot do in their country; they do it here and turn our people into second class citizens in our country. And when there are issues of injury, they do all they can to shift blame and sweep the matter under the carpet so victims are hardly adequately compensated for injuries or fatalities.
“The government and the agency saddled with regulation should do better. Employees must learn to stand on their rights and protect themselves at the workplace while employers should strive to make the workplace healthier and safe for their workers and the government should play its part in ensuring that employers follow through in having a safe and healthy workplace. That is the only way we can move forward, what we have presently are just words and rule on paper, there is a need for the system to be effective,” she added.
Legislations
Nigeria has legislations regarding safety and health in the work environment, however, lack of implementation and prosecution for negligence is rife. Employment laws in Nigeria are generally perceived to be employer-friendly. However, federal and local laws govern contracts, terminations, wages and privacy, and organisations considering business in Nigeria need to be familiar with these laws.
The main sources of employment law in Nigeria are the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended), Labour Act Cap L1, LFN 2004, Factories Act Cap F1 LFN 2004, Industrial Training Fund Cap 19 LFN 2004 (As Amended), National Health Insurance Scheme Act, Cap N42, LFN 2004, National Housing Fund Act, Cap N45 LFN 2004, Pension Reform Act 2014, Personal Income Tax Act Cap P8 LFN 2004, Trade Dispute Act Cap T8 LFN 2004, Trade Unions Act Cap T14 LFN 2004, Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019, amongst other relevant legislations as well as decisions of the court otherwise known as case law. Particular focus will be on the Labour Act which provisions cover employees engaged in both white collar jobs as well as menial jobs.
The Factory Act provides that workers must not be engaged in tasks that could lead to injuries, or be exposed to products that are hazardous such as dangerous liquids and fumes, explosives and inflammable dusts, gases, vapors etc. Such workers should obtain special training and work under the supervision of a supervisor who has particularly good knowledge and experience handling such hazardous equipment and in Section 47, it makes it compulsory for employers to provide free personal protective gear to the employees.
There is also a national policy on occupational safety and health developed in 2006, aimed at facilitating the enhancement of occupational safety and health performance in all sectors of the economy and ensuring that employees’ rights protection is consistent with regional and international standards
The Nigerian Labour Act, 1971, is the primary law guiding employment relationships in Nigeria. The Act describes workers as individuals that enter into or work under a contract with an employer. The contract may cover physical or administrative work, a service agreement, or “a personal contract to execute any work or labour.” But not all employed individuals are regarded as workers, the Act categorises this set of employees as “persons exercising administrative, executive, technical, or professional functions as public officers or otherwise,” and they are subject to the terms and conditions of their employment contract.
The Employee Compensation Act of 2010, also applies to all employees in the public and private sectors and serves as a protection from financial hardship in cases of work-related injury, illness or death. Under this Act, all employers in Nigeria will deduct one percent of each employee’s monthly salary and remit it to the Employee Compensation Fund.
Industrial Training Act, 2011 (As amended): This is one of six major statutory contributions mandated by Nigerian law to be paid. The Act promotes relevant skill acquisition in industry and commerce to provide a pool of indigenous workers to meet the economic needs.
Section 6 of the Act provides that employers with five or more employees, or less than five but with a turnover of 50 million naira (N50 Million) and above per annum will contribute 1% of its total annual payroll to the Fund. Failure to do this within the stipulated period will attract a fine equivalent to 5% of the unpaid amount for each month after the date the payment should have been made.
The Pensions Reform Act, 2014, establishes guidelines for paying employees in the public and private sectors. Private sector employers with 15 or more employees are to provide a Contributory Pension Scheme for their employees after they retire.
Trade Union Act and Trade Dispute Act, defines trade unions as any association of temporary or permanent employers or employees that controls the terms and conditions of employees through collective bargaining agreements and other negotiations. The law secures the right for workers to strike and peacefully picket while mandating that employers recognise trade unions. It also outlines rules for litigation dispute resolution between employers and trade unions, arbitration, and conciliation. Under this Act, trade disputes are under the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) jurisdiction.
National Minimum Wage Act, 2019 replaced the revoked National Minimum Wage Act 2004 (as amended), and applies to employers with 25 or more employees and is applicable across all sectors, with the following exceptions; organisation where workers operate on part-time contracts or a commission or employees in seasonal industries like agriculture and employees on a vessel or aircraft, where laws that regulate merchant shipping or civil aviation apply.
Personal Income Tax Act, guides the statutory payment of personal income tax from individuals, communities, families, trustees, and executors of settlements.
National Health Insurance Scheme Act, establishes the guidelines that provide easy access to health care for all Nigerians. In addition, the Act oversees the promotion, integration and regulation of health insurance schemes to facilitate health coverage for all Nigerian employees.
Speaking on why law don’t work, Olusiji Adams, a social commentator stated that religious belief plays a huge role, adding that “in order to increase profit, some employers treat workers safety with levity, and they do not make personal protective equipment available nor do they care about the impact of their work activities on the environment but when there are accidents, even workers do not help themselves because Nigeria is a deeply religious country and accidents are considered acts of God, so they don’t act or allow you help fight their cause. They just take it as something allowed by God and also believe that protection is from God by faith, so they don’t address non-compliance with safety regulations in the workplace or to pursue remedial action for such non-compliance.
Way forward
It is suggested that reforms to the labour laws must be seen to address the core inadequacies of existing legislations whilst also looking into the future. The Nigerian legislature is also encouraged to ensure that bills are drafted and speedily passed into law without delay or political maneuvering because as long as the workplace remain subjected to unenforceable legislations or insignificant penalties for violation, employees become victims of more injuries, dehumanizing treatment and loss of livelihood.
A legal practitioner, Abiodun Ajimati said, “occupational health and safety laws should be updated to incorporate current realities especially, regarding mental and emotional health and business owners should invest in training their workers on how to protect themselves in the work environment and reduce their exposure to hazards, while also putting safety and health policies in place and enforcing them.”
According to Bowale Afe, “laws are quite useless if they are not enforced. The health and safety regulations currently available should be enforced, and employers who disregard these regulations should be brought to book; the government can make it possible for employees to be protected be being able to report violations, to curtail flagrant disobedience to health and safety laws by some employers.”
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