OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH UNIT
OSH Unit of the Congress has the mandate to plan, execute, coordinate, and build capacity of Industrial Unions affiliated to NLC in the areas of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH).
This report covers the NLC activities related to Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) from January 2020 to June 2020. The unit also hosts the focal point on HIV/AIDS and Child Labour.
Occupational Health and Safety
Major activities were slowed due to the COVID 19 pandemic that had thrown the world into crisis with serious impact on the workplace.
The OSH Unit is developing educational modules that will assist in training workers on issues of Risk Assessment, COVID 19 response and hazards mitigations at workplace.
The Unit participated in many virtual meetings supported by ILO in collaboration with Safety Professionals to carry out virtual trainings that featured the following topics:
- COVID 19 – Risk Communication in Community Transmission
- Community Spread of COVID – 19: Challenges and Mitigation
- Managing COVID 19: Community Engagement and Primary Health Care
- Environmental Management, Sanitation and COVID 19
- Waste Management in COVID 19 response
- Personal Protective Equipment and COVID 19: Health and Safety Considerations
- Determinants for an integrated sustainable waste management system.
- Corona Virus Related Stigma and Home Care.
The topics above are great resources that could assist the unit to step down similar training for industrial unions.
The World Day for Safety and Health which comes up every 28th April was held virtually by stakeholders. ILO organized a training on ‘’Environmental Management, Sanitation and COVID 19’’ and ‘’Waste Management in COVID 19 response’’ to mark the 2020 OSH Day.
CHILD LABOUR
The NLC joined other stakeholders in participating in several activities of ILO – supported Alliance 8.7 project which targets to eliminate forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour in all its forms, including worst forms of child labour.
NLC participated in some virtual meetings called by ILO for the commemoration of World day against Child Labour which were centered on the following:
- COVID-19 and its impact on child labour and forced labour; opportunities for intervention in Nigeria.
- Achieving SDG 8.7 targets amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, Africa and at the global level.
- Impact of COVID-19 on the three identified priority areas; supply chains, Migration and Conflict and humanitarian setting.
- Recommendations to the government of Nigerian and Global Alliance 8.7
The NLC had a meeting with ILO towards the take-off of a project on ‘Accelerating action for the elimination of child labour in supply chains in Africa”, which will focus on reducing the vulnerabilities and exploitation of children in the Global Supply Chains in Africa and in the cocoa and Artisanal Small Gold Mine sectors in Nigeria. The Congress already sent a focal point that manages the project alongside others.
NHIS
The NLC had enrolled its staff on National Health Insurance Scheme which had ensured steady access to treatment of all Congress since 2018. The Congress signed its third-tier contract with Pro Health – a private Health Management Organization (HMO) to provide adequate health care for staff.
COUNTRY COORDINATING MECHANISMS (CCM) OF GLOBAL FUNDS
The Federal Government, through the apparatus of Federal Ministry of Health, catalyzed the creation of the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) Nigeria in March 2002, as the only recognized entity that can access the Global funds onbehalf of the Country and also as a coordinating instrument to provide oversight functions for effective engagement of the grants by the recipients. The CCM neither manages nor executes Global Fund grants but:
- Provides oversight, guidance & support to implementers (Principal Recipients)
- Identifies the strategic programs that need to be funded & submits proposals to GF.
The CCM is made of partnerships consisting of representatives from both the public and civil society sectors but governs in the national interest. There are about 30 participating partnerships / organizations serving currently in the Nigerian CCM. Comrade Maureen Onyia-Ekwuazi (Member and 1st Vice Chair CCM Nigeria) and Comrade Abdulrafiu Adeniji (Alternate member and President of NANNM) represent NLC at the CCM Nigeria. Below is a chart of the organizations in Global funds Nigeria.
| Constituency | # | Sub-Constituencies | |
| Government | 9 | Federal Ministry of Health (1) | |
| Federal Ministry of Finance (1) | |||
| Federal Ministry of Education (1) | |||
| Federal Ministry of Labour & Productivity (1) | |||
| National AIDS Control Agency (NACA) (1) | |||
| National Planning Commission (1) | |||
| National Universities Commission (1) | |||
| Federal Ministry of Defence (Armed Forces | |||
| Programme on AIDS (1) | |||
| Secretary to the Government of Federation (1) | |||
| Domestic National | Umbrella | 9 | Nigerian Labour Congress (1) |
| Civil Society Organizations | Malaria National Network (1) | ||
| HIV/AIDS National Network (1) | |||
| TB National Network (1) | |||
| National Youth Organization (1) | |||
| National Women’s Organization (1)NCWS | |||
| Nigerian Union of Journalists (1) | |||
| National Network of Persons living/affected by | |||
| HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria (1) | |||
| Society for Women Association Against AIDS in | |||
| Nigeria (1) | |||
| Academic/Research | 1 | Nigeria AIDS Research Network (1) | |
| institutions | |||
| Private sector organizations | 1 | Nigeria Business Coalition Against AIDS | |
| (NIBUCAA) (1) | |||
| Religious/faith-based | 2 | 1 Christian organization | |
| organizations | 1 Muslim organization | ||
| Multilateraland | bilateral | 4 | 2 Multi-lateral partners – UNAIDS, WHO, PERPFAR |
| development partners | etc | ||
| 2 Bi-lateral partners- Embassies in Nigeria | |||
| International | Non- | 3 | INGOs working in AIDS, TB, Malaria, and related |
| Governmental Organizations | Health Systems | ||
| TOTAL | 30 | ||
The Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) is an innovative monetary instrument conceived in Nigeria by the G8 back in the year 2000. It was finally established in 2002 with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. This novel funding mechanism is characterized by a robust Public
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Private Partnership initiative symbolic of any efficient, effective, and progressive contemporary organization.
The GFATM mobilizes funds to support programs run by Governments and local experts in countries and communities in dare need of intervention to stem the decimating effects of the three diseases of AIDS, TB and malaria as epidemics.
Nigeria is currently implementing a Global fund grant of $660million for HIV, Malaria and Tuberculosis which commenced in 2018 and will end in November 2020.
Nigeria submitted a Programme Continuation Proposal on March 25th 2019 to cover grants for 2021 – 2023. On July 1st 2020, the Global has approved a new grant of $890million for HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria. These funds are distributed around health system strengthening (infrastructural development and procurement of medications) and service delivery.
The Global Fund allowed countries to programme 10% of their existing grants in the fight against COVID 19. Nigeria programmed for $28million out of which $21million is to purchase COVID 19 test kits.
It’s important to note that the NLC leveraged on this opportunity to apply for funds that could help carry out programmes on risk communication, social mobilization of workers to adhere to guidelines in about 15 states and 120 local government areas of Nigeria if approved.
OSH Law
Earlier in the year, Congress made input on the Labour Bills sent by the Federal Ministry of Labour including Occupational Safety and Health Bill. The OSH Bill is one of the Labour Bills harmonized by the tripartite.