The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), have launched an Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) action checklist for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) aimed at improving OSH practices, working conditions and productivity.
Speaking during the launch in Abuja on Wednesday, ILO Country Director, Ms Vanessa Phala, said ILO in June included OSH as the fifth pillar of its fundamental principle and rights at work.
She said, "This is because safe and healthy working conditions are fundamental to decent work. This is expected to be applicable in every occupation/sector that is creating jobs, including the MSMEs which employ a large proportion of the workforce and tend to have higher rates of work-related accidents and diseases.
"Lower productivity in MSMEs caused by these high rate of work-related accidents and diseases will prevent sustainable national economic growth."
In his keynote address, the Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo (SAN), represented by the Director of Occupational Safety and Health in the ministry, Mrs Adogu Lauretta, commended the effort and contribution of the ILO to the realisation of the essential risk assessment tool, which he said would also serve as a training guide to improve workplace health and hygiene conditions.
