NIGERIA’S HEALTH & SAFETY LAW IS SLEEPING

In the emerging industrial society, statues have been used to regulate some industrial activities and these statutes have had the effect of imposing additional liability on employers for the safety of their employees.

The National Assembly on Thursday, 27th September 2012 passed the Labour Safety, Health Welfare Bill intending to protect Nigeria workers. The bill seeks to set aside and develop the Factory Act 2004 to make comprehensive provisions for securing the safety, health and welfare of persons at work.

It will also promote safe and healthy work environment for employees and protect them from injuries and illnesses at their workplaces. In addition, it will establish the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.

The Labour, Safety, Health & Welfare Bill of 2012 still awaits the presidential assent.

There have been couple of legislations introduced from between 1974 to 2012 namely Factories Act of 1987 (now known as Factories Act of 2004), the Workman’s Compensation Act of 1987, the Labour Act of 1990, the Workman’s Compensation Act of 2004 and the Employees’ Compensation Act of 2010 (which repealed the Workman’s Compensation Act of 2004).

Exploration of our regulations have revealed that severities of penalties stipulated by occupational safety and health laws in Nigeria are insignificant; in that offenders are not deterred by the penalties.

The Factories Act 2004, Section 65(5) states “where an inspector is obstructed in the execution of his powers or duties under the provision of this Act, the person obstructing him shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding N1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment; and where an inspector is so obstructed in a factory, the occupier of the factory shall be guilty of an offence.”

Section 51(4) states “Any employer or occupier of a factory who fails to report an accident under this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding N1,000.

If any person is killed or dies or suffers any bodily injury, in consequence of the occupier or owner of a factory having contravened any provision of this Act (the Factory Act) or of any regulation or order made thereunder, the occupier or owner of the factory shall, without prejudice to any other penalty, be liable to a fine not exceeding N5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both such fine and imprisonment, and the whole or any part of the fine may be applied for the benefit of the injured person or his family or otherwise as the court may order…Section 71.

Our HSE regulations/laws are sleeping (non-active) and the penalties are insignificant.

The National Industrial Safety Council of Nigeria is one of the bodies with the mandate to enforce safety standards in industries. Amongst the responsibilities they are saddled with is to “minimize avoidable death and injury by devising, recognising, encouraging and promoting methods and procedures leading to improve safety, protection and health among all persons in public & private places throughout Nigeria.”

Commenting on the spate of industrial accidents in the country, the president of National Industrial Safety Council of Nigeria, Dr. Chidebere Anyanmu said “the council isn’t unaware of the breaches of safety standards by both indigenous and multinational companies; but blamed the National Assembly for the impunity that many companies enjoy in the face of flagrant breaches.”

He further said “There are several breaches in the industries. And it is not only the multinational companies that kill and maim Nigerians; we also have indigenous companies in the country. Some of them do not have signboards, they keep maiming citizens in their factories and everyday we have records of such victims and we cry out. These companies have breached all the laws of the federation. But you asked what our council is doing to stop the maiming in the industries. One of the steps that we have taken is that we have listed a lot of companies and taken them before the National Assembly and addressed it to the Senate on the 10^th of December 2015. Now the question is: between then and now, what has the Senate done? The Senate has not done anything. The question is: why can’t the Senate carry out its responsibility to stand up and defend Nigerians who are dying in the industries? I have presented the report to them so that they can carry out their oversight function, but I have neither seen nor heard that the Senate is doing anything about it.” – Punch Newspaper, April 14, 2016.

It is more than 3 years since the senate passed the Labour, Safety, Health & Welfare Bill 2012 and yet it still awaits the presidential assent. This is a vital issue seeking to receive urgent attention.

Every moment our construction industries or other workplaces remains unrecognised by unenforceable regulations, or the penalties for violation remains insignificant; more injuries, fatalities and accidents occur.

Hence, our government needs to show commitment to the occupational safety and health of all employees. Nigerians are dying in the industries while our health and safety law is sleeping.