FEDERAL Ministry of Labour and Productivity, called on organized labour in the country to report workplace accidents to appropriate authorities for necessary action prevent regular occurrence.

Controller, Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity,  Lagos, Alhaja Nofisat Arogundade spoke at a workshop organised for workers by the Industrial Global Union  affiliates in Nigeria on “safety and health at work’’ in Lagos.

She said that union should ensure that they keep statics of accidents and diseases and report them when they occur to ensure that the incident does not repeat.

According to her “Union leaders’ should have proper documentation. We want the employers and employees to make issues of safety and prevention of occupational diseases at workplace a collective bargaining issues. If the employees or union make complaint to the ministry the issue will be taken up and necessary measures put in place to avoid recurrence.’’

She said it was regrettable that the law on work place accident was weak but it was time for the union to rise up to enable government take proactive step on the issue.

She said that for the wealth and economy of the country to grow and develop, the health of workers should be protected.

Speaking,  Oladele  Hunsu, President, National Union Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, condemned employers who disregarded minimum safety standard.

He said that workplaces in Nigeria had become a regular scene of accidents and that labour must call for prosecution of such employers, saying  “apart from lack of electricity and smuggling, lack of safety at work is also leading to collapse of industries especially in some parts of the country.’’

He called for international health and safety standard because healthy and safe workplaces rest the tripod of respect for the right of workers and urged employers to support legislation and policies by governments to strengthen work place action in the promotion and fight for health and safety.