NECA’s safe workplace intervention project rewards Nigerite

Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) and Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association’s (NECA), the promoters of Safe Workplace Intervention Project (SWIP), have given an award to Nigerite Limited for the company’s consistency in ensuring safety of employees and visitors at its workplace.
A company reputed for being exceptionally socially responsible, Nigerite is Nigeria’s premier and leading roofing sheet and building materials manufacturing company and had won several awards in the past with this ‘Exceptional Safety and Health Standard’ award as the latest.
The safety audit that led to the award was said to have been conducted in four geo-political zones including South-West, South-South, North Central and North-West of Nigeria and according to the promoters, the aim of the exercise was to generate a data bank on the state of compliance of audited companies with the National OSH standards and also to identify companies that are highly susceptible to injuries
For winning the award, Nigerite was presented with a brand new 14-seater Toyota Ambulance to further aid the its continued commitment to safety of workers and visitors in its organisation.
Olusegun Oshinowo, NECA’s SWIP managing director, disclosed at the award presentation in Lagos that SWIP was instituted to recognise and celebrate the few organisations in Nigeria that are maintaining international safety standard in their workplaces.
According to him, the recognition is necessary to boost the morale of organisations that are committed to human safety as well as serving as a wake-up call to other manufacturing companies that still pay lip-service to safety precautions.
“Beyond the fact that we want to appreciate the good work these organisations are doing, in their determination to protect workers’ lives, we want it to serve as a challenge to others that are yet to imbibe this culture. Rather than talking about reward for injured workers, we want to intensify efforts that will prevent accidents in workplaces, ” he said.
Commending NSITF and NECA for the initiative, human resources/corporate affairs manager of Nigerite, Demola Buraimoh said the award was an encouraging achievement, adding however that the award did not come to the company as a surprise as he revealed that Nigerite has always taken safety issues as an entrenched culture in its operations.
“Workplace safety is a key issue for us at Nigerite. We strive everyday to ensure the safety of our workers and others affected by their work activities in the workplace. As an employer of labour, we pride ourselves as a responsible organisation when it comes to the provision of safe and healthy workplace for our workers.”
Besides, Buraimoh revealed that the award confirmed that Nigerite’s efforts at organising safety week and seminars every year where priority attention is given to safety issues and matters as they affect their operations are appreciated and noticed.
Three other companies that were also given the prize of Toyota Hiace bus Ambulance: Cadbury, Nigeria Bottling Company and BAGCO. PZ and Ajinomoto won mini buses while several other companies won fire extinguishers and first aid boxes among other things.