Labour seeks workplace injury law for workers

Steel and Engineering Workers Union of Nigeria on Wednesday called on the Federal Government to ensure that laws on workplace accidents were implemented for victims to get their benefits.
Umaru Osbuade, SEWUN’s Deputy President, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria on why some occupational accident victims did not get adequate compensation when injured.
According to Osbuade, there is a labour law on how to compensate a worker who is injured at work, but it is not implemented.
He said that some companies, especially those owned by expatriates, were guilty of abandoning any worker that sustained injury at workplace.
Osbuade said: “The workers are the problem because many of them are engaged without proper condition of service. The workers accept anything because of unemployment rate.
“Secondly, when there is any issue and it is taken to the appropriate official, the issue is delayed until the victims are forced to walk away.
“Also, the expatriate companies do not get the right advice from their legal partners on how to compensate workers.’’
Osbuade said that the Federal Ministry of Labour must ensure that when such cases are brought to them, steps should be taken for the victims to get quick justice.
He, however, said it was inhuman to abandon an injured worker, saying that workers should join the labour union to ensure that their rights are protected.
He said: “If a worker suffers workplace accident and it is reported to the right union, the union would declare a trade dispute with the company until compensation is paid.’’
NAN reports that in the last 10 years, there are over 3,183 occupational accidents.