In Anambra State house of assembly, the bill for a law to ensure good health, safety and welfare of factory workers and all persons lawfully present in factories for related purposes, has scaled through second reading.
Speaker of the House, Right Honourable Uche Okafor, read out the bill for the second time, while the legislators supported it through a voice vote.
The bill, sponsored by the Deputy Speaker of the House and member representing Ihiala Constituency Two, Dr. Paschal Agbodike seeks to protect workers at various factories and companies from being used as machines by their employees. He expressed dissatisfaction over the poor state of some factories in the state and called on their management, to do the needful.
He further said that the bill mandates every employer to carry out appropriate risk assessment in relation to the safety and health of persons employed and, on the basis of these results, adopt preventive and protective measures to ensure that under all conditions of their intended use, all chemicals, machinery, equipment, tools and process under the control of the employer are safe and without risk to health and comply with the requirements of safety and health provisions in the bill.
On his part, the Deputy Majority leader, Sir Emeka Aforka, added that any person, who contravenes the provisions of the bill commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand naira or to an imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both.
In his contribution, the chairman House Committee on Health, Dr. Carter Umeoduagu, noted that the bill will guarantee the safety of factory workers as it ensures that every factory owner will put in place all appropriate protective clothing or equipment to be used in the workplace by employees, who in the course of employment, are likely to be exposed to the risk of bodily injuries, and adequate instructions in the use of such protective equipment.
In their contributions, the member representing Oyi Constituency, Honourable Charles Obimma and his Nnewi North Constituency counterpart, Honourable Nonso Smart-Okafor and the member representing Anambra East Constituency, Honourable Obinna Emeneka, who noted that good health is the fundamental right of every worker, maintained that it seeks to protect the common man working in every factory in the state from chemicals that can endanger their health and put in place good welfare package for them.
After the resolution that the bill be passed for second reading, the speaker Mr Uche Okafor referred it to the committee on Health before the house adjourned plenary till Thursday 20th of April.
The bill was first read on the floor of the House in 2019.
