Benin City-The Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity has emphasized that safety and health issues among workers are the core fundamentals of a productive economy and urged companies operating in the country to keep pace with the relevant laws on them just as the Okomi Oil Palm Company PLC announced that it expended the sum of N70 million to purchase Personal Protective Equipment(PPE) for workers under its employ to meet safety standards.
Speaking during the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Day organised by the Okomu Oil palm Company Plc, with the theme :“ A healthy environment begins with me’’, the Edo state Controller of the Ministry who spoke through her representative, Mr.Tajudeen Afekhai pointed out that the ministry had always emphasized safety consciousness in the work place.
While the ministry had in conjunction with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) always preached the principles of prevention, Mr. Afekhai warned against the lone worker syndrome, describing it as dangerous whenever emergency occurs for the singular worker on duty and equally cautioned against buying wrong Personal Protective equipment, saying safety consciousness is an important prerequisite in all situations.
On the Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc , he commended it for so far complying with relevant labour laws and urged it to maintain the standard, stressing that whenever a default occurs there will be no excuse as the injured worker must be compensated for injuries and damage.
“ A company will always pay for negligence and the fines are heavy. The Factories Act and the Employees Act will apply’’, he warned.
In his remarks at the occasion, the Managing Director of the company, Dr. Graham Hefer disclosed that due to the high importance the company attached to the safety and health of workers, it had so far sunk in about N70 million to purchase protective equipment, adding that it had complied with
all regulations and laws defining its operation including Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
His words: “ The company is not happy for workers to lose their lives. Safety is our utmost concern, our health and safety obligations are the most crucial aspects of our operations and we carry out all that is required of us to ensure that our surroundings are safe.’’
According to him its plantations are safe and employ environmental guidelines, noting that only four snake bites incidents have been recorded in the last 10 (ten) years as they are few and far between with its health facility well stocked with anti-snake bite venoms.
Dr.Hefer who acknowledged that it cannot do it alone without support of people said that workers, contactors, Non Governmental Organisations(NGOs) are all important stakeholders and revealed that buffer zones of over 2,500 hectares are being maintained by the company on ongoing basis for safety of people and the environment, stressing “we look after the environment and remain within the law’’.
Also as part of its conservation effort, he said it is in collaboration with the Okomu National Park and Universities as there are 25 species of frogs at the national park and other 24 species identified in its plantations in addition to boreholes being dug for host communities in a continuing effort to improve on health and safety.
An expert in the industry, Mr. Fatai Afolabi in his paper noted that the company is a member of the International Standard Organisation(ISO), the first agricultural company in the country to attain the status with sound policy on waste management and also has safety shoes such as the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil(RSPO) and the Free Prior and Informed Consent(FPIC), assuring that effluents are discharged into a natural depression and are monitored regularly.
On his part, the Conservator General, Okomu National Park, Alhaji Ahmed Abdullahi said that it has been working with the company to train security staff to protect wild life in the buffer zones, which are areas between the national park and the Palm and Rubber Plantations.
A spokesman on behalf of the communities who attended the occasion, Mr. Isaac Osasuyi from Odghi, however dissociated the communities from a recent protest against the company by a group over alleged land grabbing, hinting that those involved were from extension 2 in Ovia North East and Uhunmwonde Local government areas.
In attendance at the heath awareness day were about eleven communities of Belegbu, Mdagbayo, Ofunama, Safaragbo, Ebule-Ogba, Odighi, Inikorogha, Ekpan, Uhiere, Irhue, and Umokpe as well as Safety and Health Experts, Palm Oil Industry Experts, Federal ministry of Labour, workers and members of the media, among others.
