The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, on Tuesday, assured the workers in the Federal Civil Service of the commitment of the government to providing a safe, conducive and healthy work environment in order to enhance their well-being and boost productivity.
She has accordingly charged Heads of Ministries Departments and Agencies to prioritise safety standards and healthy workplaces for their staff for enhanced service delivery.
She made the call on in Abuja, at the opening of a 3-day training organised by her office for the ‘Occupational Safety And Health Desk Officers in all the MDAs’,
The Head of Service who was represented by Mr Mahmud Kambari, Permanent Secretary Service Welfare office, office of the HOCSF, explained that a healthy workforce was a key element that could translate to increased productivity in any organisation, hence the need for such officers in the public sector.
The training which attracted over 170 civil servants selected from different MDAs has, ‘Fostering a Save Conducive and Healthy Work Environment for Civil Servants’, as its theme.
Yemi-Esan who noted that safety is a fundamental right of every worker, recalled that the National Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Policy approved by the Federal Executive Council, mandated the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to ensure the provision of safe, conducive and healthy work environment and promote international best practices in OSH for workers in all MDAs.
“In line with this mandate the office of the HOCSF on July 6, 2022, issued a circular for the establishment of an OSH Desk in MDAs, instructing them to establish or resuscitate an OSH Desk.
“The office is to be manned by staff who will be trained to discharge the responsibilities of coordinating the implementation of OSH activities in the MDAs, ” she explained.
Earlier, Mrs Comfort Adeosun, Director of Operational Health and Safety in the office of the HOCSF, said the training was aimed at equipping the participants to function properly as desk officers so as to effectively drive the OSH.
According to Adeosun, OSH is an organisational policy developed by the Federal Government to promote healthy living amongst civil servants in the course of discharging their duties.
Also, Dr Oluwakemi Lawanson, Managing Director MODZ.UK Solution Limited, a Guest Lecturer, who spoke on the topic ‘Health And Safety at the Office’, decried the alarming rate of death being recorded among civil servants owing to a lack of preventive and safety measures in place.
“The rate at which civil servants die is alarming. Before I used to think that the posters you see on notice boards were campaign posters for union elections, but the closer you look at them, you will discover that they are obituary posters,” she said.
Lawanson urged the desk officers being trained to take deliberate efforts to prevent workplace accidents and illness in order to promote healthy and well-being among civil servants.
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