The Senate yesterday passed a bill seeking to cater for the
safety, health and welfare of Nigerian workers.

The bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Chris Anyanwu
(APGA-Imo), was read for the third time and passed at the Senate on Thursday.

The bill seeks to repeal and re-enact the Factory Act, 2004
to make comprehensive provisions for securing the safety, health and welfare of
persons at work.

It also seeks to protect others against risks to safety and
health with regard to activities of persons at work in addition to establishing
the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.

The amended bill contains 111 clauses and clause 83 deals
with offences and penalties.

It read in part; ‘’ Any employer who fails to comply with
any of the provisions of clauses 29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36 and 37 of this bill
relating to the duty of the employer commits an offence.

“The person shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment
for a term not less than one year or to a fine of not less than N500,000.

“Both fine and imprisonment in case of an individual and a
fine of not less than N2 million for a corporate body and in addition each
director or manager of the body shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not
less than one year.

“Clause 31 (1)of the Bill also states that an employer shall
after being notified by a female employee that she is pregnant, adapt the
working conditions of the female employee in such manner as to prevent
occupational exposure.

“This is to ensure that the embryo is afforded the same
level of protection as required for members of the public and the employer
shall not consider the notification of pregnancy as a reason to exclude the
employee from work.

“The employer is also required by this law to ensure that
any female employee that is pregnant or nursing a baby is not exposed to
ionising radiation at the work place.

On the construction and disposal of machinery, the bill in
clause 52 stipulates that any person who manufactures, assemblies, sells or
lets on hire any machine that does not comply with the requirement of this
clause commits an offence.

The person shall be liable to a penalty of N50,000 for the
first case of non compliance and N100,000 for every subsequent case of non
compliance or N50 million for the first case of non compliance and N500 million
for every subsequent case.

The Senate President, David Mark, who presided over the
plenary session noted that the bill had already been passed in the House of
Representatives.

Mark advised that a conference committee be set up as soon
as possible so as to harmonise the Bill and forward it to the President for his
assent.

Our correspondent reports that the Bill had initially come
to the Senate as an executive bill but was represented as a private member bill
by Anyanwu.

The Bill, which had passed second reading on May 17, was was
referred to the joint committees on Employment, Labour and Productivity, Health
and Establishment and Public Services for further legislative action.

The Senate President also wished the Senators and indeed all
Nigerians a Happy Independence Anniversary coming up on Monday.