To promote wellbeing and productivity, experts have spoken on the need to create awareness and increase advocacy on safety in the workplace.
Safety in the workplace was at the centre of discussion at the Eighth yearly colloquium organised by The Safety Advocates in memory of a safety icon, Dr. Bamisayo Oluwagbemi .
The late Oluwagbemi was the first chartered safety practitioner.
With its theme,‘Redefining Safety Culture: Institutional and Legal Approach for Safer Workplace’, the event held at Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Ikeja.
In a keynote address by the Director General of Lagos Safety Commission, Lanre Mojola, he noted redefining safety culture through institutional and legal approaches is a step towards ensuring safety in the workplace.
“Safety culture is not just about compliance with regulations but creating an environment where employees are encouraged to report unsafe conditions and near-misses without fear of retaliation.”
He mentioned institutional approaches which promote safety as creating a safety committee responsible for identifying potential hazards and developing strategies to mitigate them.
“It also involves regular training of employees on how to identify hazards and respond to emergency. Employers should understand that building strong relationships where employees believe they can have honest conversations when safety issues arise and for purposes of feedback contribute to ensuring safety becomes an integral part of the activities in their organisations.”
Mojola said organisations should adopt approaches to safety that think about incidents before they occur rather than reacting to work-related accidents.
National Coordinator, and head of Hybrid Group, Dapo Omolade, described the late Oluwagbemi as the foremost health and safety practitioner in Nigeria.
“We are sending the message out that what Dr. Oluwagbemi stood for was a safe society and to make safety a way of life. Hence, you have approached safety from legal, home, and health perspectives. A lot of people still don’t know a lot about safety and so it is important for everyone to embrace the way of life – safety.”
The Executive Director, Strategy, and Safety Advocates, Jamiu Badmos, affirmed that Oluwagbemi was the first to be chartered as an Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (ISOH) member who brought safety to the limelight.
In line with the theme of the event, Badmos noted: “There is a health and safety policy, but today, the law in use is the Factory Act 2004 which is obsolete. “Everywhere in the world, people are transforming their safety policy, hence since 2008, we have been begging the successive government to have operational Health and Safety Act which will put in place leadership commitment.
“I use this medium to call on the government to quickly have an executive bill on Occupational Health and Safety and let the National Assembly quickly approve it so we don’t lose more lives in Nigeria. Look at our roads and factories, people are dying and when one person dies, you have also killed all the dependents of the person.”
The CEO, SafetyPlus, Mrs. Dominga Odebunmi stressed that a positive safety culture at a workplace is when workers are enlightened to the point that they can freely report a hazard without fear of victimisation.
“Workers understand the process of accident prevention and are empowered to stop a potential danger. Hence, having risk awareness, fair and just culture, inclusiveness, management commitment, and accountability are key to embracing positive safety culture,” she said.