The Lagos State Government, through the Lagos State Safety Commission, is set to host a conference tagged Lagos Vision Zero Conference with the theme: “a mindset change towards zero harm”.
According to the Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Hon Hakeem Dickson, the Conference became imperative in light of the spate of incidences in the work place which negatively affects the safety, health and wellbeing of workers. He said the aim of the conference is to develop attitudinal change of employees towards the workers and to safeguard them while at work.
Hon Dickson explained that the Lagos State Vision Zero Safety Health and Wellbeing at workplace aims for a paradigm shift of a global vision of prevention of interrelated issues of occupational safety and employees health, which is best managed in a comprehensive and integrated manner.
It is to inculcate an attitude that all injuries and ill health arising from workplaces are preventable, while the commitment of the employees and employers to promote and protect each other’s safety and health across all level in the labour force.
He solicited for leadership commitment to the Vision Zero where every accident is preventable and support from employers and other relevant stakeholders towards efforts by the Commission to build an inclusive Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Workplace strategy for the protection and education of the workforce.
The Director General added that Lagos State Safety Commission is committed to regulating, policy formulation, advisory, advocacy, set safety standards for all sectors involved in social economic activities; the Commission is also mandated to build reliable statistics to enhance preventive measures in wellbeing /wellness of workplace and have responsibilities to review assessment reports to proactively ensure a safety practice in the State.
Dickson revealed that the Lagos State Safety Commission, being the only Safety Agency in the Country and by extension the Sub Saharan Africa, participated in the twenty first World Congress on Safety and Health at work, which took place for the first time in South-East Asia, held in September 2017, at Marina Bay Sands, in Singapore, and presented a paper titled “Implementing Integrated Safety and health to employees: Lagos State Experience” which highlighted the need to make the workplace safer and healthier through building global prevention culture. The congress was tailored towards advancing global agenda on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in the world.
The Director General said that death, accident, and injuries in workplaces represent colossal social and economic burden for enterprises, communities and countries coupled with human and financial problems for the workers and their families.
He reiterated the need to keep up to date with latest Occupational safety and Health (OSH) developments and constantly review the existing practices and standards
He described workplace accidents as an unfortunate phenomenon that is preventable if systematic measures are put in place and sustained adding that the protection of workers should not be sacrificed for economic gain. The Director General called on employers and workers to work in synergy to cultivate a safe and healthy working environment as it forms the basis for a more productive and engaged workforce.
He concluded by saying “We can only progress on our journey towards vision zero through shared commitment of companies, organizations, governments and workers across the globe.
The Lagos Vision Zero Conference is expected to hold in June while various committees have been set up to ensure a hitch free conference
