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An Evaluation Of Health And Safety Policy In The Public Service
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Nigeria with the largest population in Africa (population of
approximately 200 million) without OHS means a lot of people in Africa
are exposed to occupational and safety hazards and continue to live with
the consequences of such exposure. Nigeria has the largest economy in
Africa, with fast growing industrialization; there could therefore not
be a better time for OHS to be implemented than now. Nigeria, tagged as
the giant of Africa ought to lead by example. In addition, Nigeria was
among the member nations that signed the OHS law at the 1981, Geneva
Convention ;Since Nigeria aims to be amongst the top 20 most
industrialized country in the world, having and implementing OHS will
align her with global industrial best practices and standards as
practiced by the current top industrialized countries of the world
;Majority of the employers and employees in small and medium scale
businesses (formal and informal sectors) are ignorant of the hazards
inherent in their jobs. They do not even know how or have the resources
to protect themselves, hence the need for government to protect the
health and safety of its citizen by implementing OHS. Nigeria’s economy,
at the moment have more people in the by the small and medium scale
industries It will improve the life expectancy of Nigerians which
currently stands at 52 since many deaths (unreported and unaccounted
for) occur directly at work or at a later time from work-related
injuries and exposures ;WHAT HAS TO BE DONE BEFORE OHS CAN OPERATE IN
NIGERIA ;There must be the relevant laws (separate OHS regulations/laws
different from the Labour laws or Compensation Act). Standard and
comprehensive OHS regulations/guides should be made e.g. South Africa’s
National Occupational Health and Safety policy OHSSA (Occupational
Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 from the South African Department of
Labour), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in
America, Health Safety Executive (HSE) regulations in the UK. Bills for
such laws should be raised, read and passed into law with inputs from
stakeholders. This is the first step because OHS is legislation-driven
.Active and continuous awareness and information campaign must be
embarked upon in order to get all the stakeholders and public on board.
This is so that they can have OHS consciousness and embrace it e.g.
stakeholders’ lecture/seminar, public lecture etc. Proper implementation
and strict enforcement: appropriate agencies (government and
non-government) must be set up and made to roll into action once the
laws are made. One of the problems with Nigeria is not just the absence
of relevant laws but of non-enforcement of existing ones (though some of
them may be old or inadequate) ;Training of personnel in various OHS
activities; both in the government and private agencies. This should
include training of OH nurses, OH physicians, ergonomists, safety
engineers, industrial hygienists, microbiologists etc There must be
continuous appraisal and review of the OHS regulations and standards in
order to be sure they are still functional at achieving the purposes for
which they were set up ;Making the provision of OHS one of the criteria
to be fulfilled before some businesses (especially the ones with OHS
hazard risks and the medium/large scale industry) are registered by the
Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) or enlisted into and kept on the
Nigerian Stock Exchange (SEC). Such measure will ensure compliance with
OHS regulations by employers ;Will: “collective willâ€/political will
must be present. It is about people (the government, employers and
employees) wanting to and doing the right thing always ;WHAT ARE THE
BENEFITS/GAINS OF OHS TO US AS A COUNTRY? Mortality and fatality rates
will be reduced and life expectancy will increase as many lives are
being lost to the various occupations people engage in Reduction in
negative trends: occupational diseases/injuries have negative effects on
workers, families and the country at large. Imagine the negative ripple
effect that will occur when a family’s breadwinner loses his or her
life in the course of work (OHS death/injury). Wives/husbands will be
widowed, children will be orphaned; such families begins to face untold
hardship. These negative effects will in turn affect the country
;Improved overall health index: OHS is another way of caring for the
public’s health. It’s a major aspect of public health protection and
promotion. People’s health and safety will be better protected at work
;It will add Nigeria to the league of countries practicing global
standards with regards to OHS. This will give international recognition
to Nigeria and enable her to assume the true leadership position she is
known for in Africa ;Another important benefit of OHS implementation to
Nigeria is massive job creation and employment thereby boosting the
economy (achieving the economic vision 20-20)
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