… Say Factory Act is obsolete, does not protect workers

By Juliet Umeh

Occupational Safety experts have called the Federal Government to sign enabling law for Nigerian workers, stating that the country is still operating on a factory Act which is already obsolete and does not protect workers.

The call came when Nigeria hosted the maiden edition of the International Vision Zero conference in Lagos recently.

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One of the experts and the President, Occupational Safety and Health in Africa, OSHAfrica, Mr. Ehi Iden said most of the African countries were signatories to the International Convention and Declarations but implementation of those declarations and domesticating it into local policy is still a problem both in Nigeria and other African countries.

He said: “The government of Nigeria must sign an enabling law for people to work with. What we have in Nigeria is the factory Act and it’s an obsolete document. It does not protect workers. The world is talking about the new technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and transformation of workplaces through technology. 

“When you are working with the factory Act and these transitions come in, you can’t protect workers. We need laws to be signed and enforcement to be done in workplaces.

“Even the few local laws that we have there are no enforcement, and we have violations and nobody is penalised.

“I just want to appeal to everyone, whether you are a worker or an employer, to make safety a priority,” said.

He noted that the experts are lining on the tripod of the Vision Zero that talks about workplace safety and wellness with the focus that anybody who goes to work should be able to return to his family without any harm or exposure to diseases through the work that the person does.

Iden also regrets the inadequacies of a number of occupational health experts across Africa. 

He said: “There are only fewer institutions where people are trained in occupational safety in Africa. We need to start looking at how we can train more people.”

Also, another expert who is a Manager at Globeleq Power Solution Nigeria LTD, Mr Julius Akpon said Nigerian authorities beginning from the Federal Ministry of Environment to National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NESREA should help to eradicate PolyChlorinated Biphenyl, PCBs in Nigeria.

He noted that PCBs have been banned in other countries yet some people mix it with vegetable oil to fry food.

According to him, “PCBs are very dangerous compounds and it is part of a group of compounds called Persistent Organic Pollutant, POP.

He said: “There are about 20 of them which have been banned 20 years ago and Nigeria was part of the signatories at the convention.

“This chemical affects a lot including reproductive organs; it can cause a lot of problems in people’s lives. It could cause mental issues because it has an impact on the central nervous system. It can make people misbehave and you will start behaving as if you are mad. Meanwhile it is due to exposure to a bad chemical at work.”