Ngige to workers: Buhari’ll bequeath buoyant economy

* Virile workforce key to growth, says Saraki, Why President gave

states bailout, by Ngige

President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to lifting workers and leaving a legacy of service and buoyant economy, Labour and Employment Minister Dr. Chris Ngige said yesterday.

In a message to mark Workers’ Day, Ngige said the President gave states bailout to pay salary and pension in his resolve to improve workers’ lives.

The President, he said, was determined to create an economy that would bring sustainable abundance to the people.

Ngige said: “On behalf of the management and staff of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment as well as its parastatals, I wish to send warm felicitations to Nigerian workers on the occasion of 2019 Workers’ Day.

“The theme of this year’s celebration which is “Another 100 years of struggle for jobs, dignity and social justice in Nigeria” aligns with the vision and efforts of President Buhari to not only uplift the lot of the Nigerian worker, but also leave a legacy of a buoyant economy capable of creating sustainable abundance for our people.

“The uniqueness of this year’s event manifests eventfully in its co-incidence with the centenary celebration of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which Nigeria proudly pioneered as the first country office in Africa 60 years ago, in Lagos in 1959.

“While I sincerely salute the resilience of the nation’s workforce and its numerous contributions to national development, we owe plentiful accolades to the most labour-friendly President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, who took practical steps to douse the restiveness in the labour force he inherited four years ago due to unpaid salaries and allowances.

“He released bailout funds at the state and federal levels, and capped it all with a new national minimum wage for the Nigerian working class in public and private sectors. As we move to the Next Level, I have no doubt that things will get better. I wish you all a productive and fulfilling workers’ Day celebration.”

‘2.78 million die yearly from occupational accident’

At a symposium to mark the 2019 World Day for Safety and Health at Work in Abuja, Ngige said that about 2.78 million people die from occupational accidents and work-related diseases yearly worldwide.

An additional 374 million are suffering from non-fatal occupational accidents yearly.

This statistics, the minister said, was alarming, adding that the economic cost in these figures is not only enormous and unquantifiable, but also tragic and regrettable.

Represented by his Permanent Secretary, William Alo, Ngige said: “This immeasurable human suffering and catastrophe caused by poor occupational safety and health practices and conditions are largely preventable”.

The minister said free medical screening was being planned for the enhancement of the informal sector’s workers’ safety, health, and welfare.

He said: “You can attest to the fact that technological advancement including digital technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics nanotechnology, and increasing automation is becoming more common in the workplace and machines are now attempting to take over the role of humans.

“In a renewed effort at addressing changing patterns and emerging risks in the workplaces, the government has embarked on measures in ensuring safe, healthy and decent work for all.

“Government has also embarked on measures to promote a culture of prevention through various workplace interventions that include the vigorous enforcement of extant labour laws through conduct and factory inspections of workplace nationwide.

“In addition, employment patterns and structures are shifting with the introduction of new forms of employment such as outsourcing, contract staffing, and a host of other non-standard forms of employment.

“All of these now present various threats and challenges to the safety and well-being of workers which must be addressed by the future of work”.

The ministry, he said, would encourage concerted efforts by all stakeholders toward rising to the transformation challenges and opportunities posed by rapidly advancing technologies which revolutionised occupational safety and health concerns.

Ngige said the evolving world of work today and in the future called for innovative investments in labour as a major factor of production, through continual learning and skill development, adding that Nigeria as a member-state of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) had since 2004, joined the yearly awareness-raising campaign.

He said the ministry would continue to develop and review policies, legislative and regulatory framework critical to achieving sustainable improvement in safety and health standards in the workplace.

ILO Country Director Denis Zulu said Nigeria had been consistent in commemorating the World Day for Occupational Safety, adding: “It is an important day for us in the ILO, because we are commemorating 100 years of the ILO and it gives an opportunity to see how much progress has been made in safety and health.

“I must admit that over the past few years, we have made tremendous progress around policies and we have also made progress towards having an updated law that reflects the changing environment in the world of work.

“We are delighted that the government is taking this issue very seriously but also the presence of the private sector, trade unions is particularly important. This is because health and safety in the workplace is not just the responsibility of the government but also the employers and the workers who are actually around the workplace”.

Director of Occupational Safety and Health Dr. Ifeoma Anyawutaku, said it was part of the ministry’s mandate to ensure the safety and well-being of workers in their workplace.

“It is our mandate that nobody goes to work to meet his death or gets harmed or sustains injuries in the course of doing his or her job. So, the Federal Government under the Ministry of Labour and Employment is doing so much particularly in enforcing standards, laws and regulations by guaranteeing the safety of the health and the well-being of every Nigerian worker in their various workplaces.

“In addition to enforcement, we are involved in promotional activities and rising awareness to ensure that every worker knows those hazards they are exposed to and to also ensure that every worker knows what steps to be taken”.