The Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige has stated that his Ministry will no longer tolerate the violation of legislations on Industrial Safety and Health by construction companies and other employers of labour, adding that Factories Act and subsidiary legislation are being reviewed towards the promotion of all inclusive occupational safety and health protection.
Ngige stated this in Abuja recently when he received on courtesy visit, the Executive members of the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria (IPSON), led by its National President Dr. Nnamdi Ilodiuba
According to him, “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 Organisation (ILO).” Speaking further he called on the Institute’s collaboration with the Ministry in the on-going review of the National Policy on Occupational Safety and Health and in the development of the National Profile.
The Minister emphasised 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.In 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 remarks, 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.
Speaking further, he noted the exclusion of ISPON, in the National Policy on Occupational Safety and Health, an approved guiding document for the practice of occupational safety and health in Nigeria thereby denying it of any role
Samuel Olowookere
Deputy Director (Press)
