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Over two million people die from occupational accident and work related diseases across the globe on annual basis, the acting Secretary, Kwara State Council of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Owoeye Olusina, said in Ilorin yesterday.
He specifically fingered developing countries as the worst hit in the occupational accident owing to the engagement of their citizens in hazardous activities.
Olusina disclosed this in a paper presented at the seminar organized by the state wing of Women Committee of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Ilorin.
The event also featured medical test for female members across the 16 local government areas of the state.
In the paper titled “Reinvigorating Women Participation in Active Grassroot Unionism: Way Forward”, the NLC scribe regretted that women, children and migrants contribute the highest figure recorded in the occupational related death.
He noted that workers all over the world face multitude of health challenges such as chemical, physical, biological and psychological hazards.
Olusina, however, lamented that many employers did not care about the health of their workers, adding that work related accident and diseases are very costly and could have serious direct and indirect effects on the lives of workers and their family.
“Statistics have shown that over 2million people die from occupational accident or work related disease annually. Safety of work varies between countries, economic sectors and social groups.
“Developing countries are the worst hit because their citizens engaged in hazardous activities e.g agriculture, construction, logging, fishing and mining. All over the world, women, children and migrants contribute the highest figure recorded”, he said.
Olusina advised women to participate actively in unionism to be abreast of the goings instead of castigating leaders outside the shores of union activities.
He said, “The time for women to sit on the fence on union matters has gone. We all need to brace up for active participation in union activities, ask questions where necessary. Don’t stay out to castigate leaders. It is only when you get involved that you will understand why a decision was taken at a particular time when you felt it was awkward for that decision.
“Self-apathy has been one of the diseases afflicting women folks, though custom and tradition contributed a great deal to this syndrome, however, the narrative must change in favour of women of women folks.
“This will be only when we stand up to change the procedural error committed in the past on participation of women in union, politics and social economic activities”.
The state Chairperson of NLC Women Committee, Comrade Victoria Agboola, said the seminar was convened to build the capacity of members for more productivity.
Describing knowledge as power, the NLC women wing chairperson noted that the event would enable participants to be effective in the discharge of their duties.
Also speaking, the Secretary of the state NLC Women Committee, Comrade Rahmat Arinola AbdulRahman, said the seminar was designed to impart more knowledge in female members of the organized labour.
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