Energy conglomerate, Sahara Group has called for increased stakeholder collaboration towards achieving sustained awareness campaigns and interventions that would enhance workplace safety and health across the globe.
Mr Adeniyi Ige, Safety Manager, Sahara Group, made the call in a statement issued on Monday in Lagos ahead of the Safety and Health at Work Day, marked globally on April 28.
Ige said employers and employees need to adopt a unified approach to safety and health issues to safeguard lives and drastically reduce the number of work-related deaths and injuries.
He said the focus must be on how increasing investment and participation of all stakeholders could make Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.
According to him, this will ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages and promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all.
“Workplace safety and health issues must be seen as everyone’s business and should be institutionalised in a manner that makes everyone’s involvement crystal clear.
“The International Labour Organisation estimates that about 2.78 million workers die from occupational accidents annually, while lost work days globally represent almost 4 per cent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product.
“This trend highlights the need for a systemic approach to effective management of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) concerns at work. We must all make safety first a way of life within and outside the workplace,” Ige said.
He noted that collaboration, investment and adoption of technology would help achieve timely identification and monitoring of health and safety hazards within the workplace.
Ige said it would also help to train employees to minimize and/or avoid any risks associated with their jobs; review health and safety legislation to ensure compliance with the most recent standards.
He added that it would also help them perform safety inspections of the workplace environment and write workplace-specific safety policies and best practices.
“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses shows that the world needs to be prepared always to take on workplace safety and health issues to safeguard global economic development and prosperity,” Ige said.
The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is celebrated by the International Labor Organisation (ILO) annually on April 28.
The celebration creates an awareness-raising campaign to promote the prevention of accidents and diseases at work globally.
It also gives international attention on the magnitude of the problem and on how promoting and creating a safety and health culture can help reduce the number of work-related deaths and injuries.
