Download Occupational Health and the Informal sector

Occupational Health and the
Informal sector
Prof. Folashade Omokhodion
Department of Community Medicine
University of Ibadan and University
College Hospital, Ibadan
Definition
The informal sector or informal
economy
• that part of an economy that is not taxed, or
monitored by any form of government.
• All economic activities; in all sectors of the
economy that are operated outside the purview
of government regulation
• Describes the activities of the working poor.
Definition
• The formal sector on the other hand
is :
A group of people, usually employees, that includes
recognized income sources for paying income taxes
based on all 40-hour, regular wage jobs.
• The formal sector has companies registered with the
government and hence, it offers job security, paid
holidays, pensions, health, fixed working hours, extra
pay for overtime work, medical and other allowances,
gratuity and various other benefits
Informal sector
• According to SIDA, the key drivers for the growth of the
informal economy in the twenty-first century include:
▫ limited absorption of labour, particularly in countries with
high rates of population or urbanization;
▫ excessive cost and regulatory barriers of entry into the formal
economy, often motivated by corruption;
▫ weak institutions, limiting education and training
opportunities as well as infrastructure development;
▫ increasing demand for low-cost goods and services;
▫ migration motivated by economic hardship and poverty;
▫ difficulties faced by women in gaining formal employment
Informal sector
• The ILO/ICFTU international symposium on the
informal sector in 1999 proposed that the informal
sector workforce can be categorized into three broad
groups:
• (a) owner-employers of micro enterprises, which employ a few
paid workers, with or without apprentices;
• (b) own-account workers, who own and operate one-person
business, who work alone or with the help of unpaid workers,
generally family members and apprentices;
• (c) dependent workers, paid or unpaid, including wage workers
in micro enterprises, unpaid family workers, apprentices,
contract labor, homeworkers and paid domestic workers.
Characteristics of the Informal sector
• The concept of the informal sector was
introduced into international usage in 1972
by the International Labor Organization
(ILO) which defined informality as a -way of
doing things characterized by
• ease of entry;
• reliance on indigenous resources;
• family ownership;
• small scale operations;
• labor intensive and adaptive technology;
• skills acquired outside of the formal sector;
• unregulated and competitive markets.
Characteristics of the Informal sector
•
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Unprotected by legislation
Unrecognized,
Unorganized
Limited capital
Lack of access to credit facilities
Low wages
Insecure income
Evasion of taxes
Informal sector in Nigeria
• Nigeria has the largest informal sector in Africa- by sheer
numbers, high unemployment rate and rising levels of
poverty.
• It accounts for nearly 70% of the workforce
• Current unemployment rates in Nigeria -23.9 % ( National
Bureau of Statistics 2012)
• 54% of youths (15-35years) unemployed- denominator
64million (2012 National Baseline Youth Survey Report)
• Women and children constitute a major proportion of
workers in this sector- women have difficulty attaining formal
employment because of low education – they work at home
and on the streets. Children provide cheap labour
Informal sector in Nigeria
• Poverty has risen in Nigeria, with almost 100
million people living on less than a $1 a day,
despite economic growth, statistics have shown.
The National Bureau of Statistics said 60.9% of
Nigerians in 2010 were living in "absolute
poverty"
• Poverty drives people to seek some form of
livelihood.
Informal sector in Nigeria
• Thus , the informal sector has grown within the
last decade especially with the advent of mass
unemployment, government and NGO driven
poverty alleviation schemes.
• Accounts for 57.9% of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic
product(GDP)
• This growth has taken place without regulation
or supervision by the competent authorities.
Informal sector in Nigeria
• The media has applauded small scale entrepreneurs
without taking cognizance of health hazards they are
exposed to; e.g women who work in the quarry in
northern Nigeria, a young man making aluminum pots
from scrap metal etc.
• They are displayed as success stories of those who have
emerged from the pains of poverty and become
successful business men and women.
• While its true that they are making money, it is at the
expense of good health; many of the hazards of such
workplaces may not produce immediate illnesses but
could result in major illnesses in the long term such as
cancers and chronic poisoning.
Informal sector in Nigeria
• The plethora of poverty alleviation programmes
which dovetail into cottage industries producing
soap, polish etc do not have a component of health
and safety for the worker.
• While work is an antedote to poverty, unsafe and
unhealthy work is a recipe for disaster. This was
well demonstrated in the Zamfara lead poisoning
disaster.
• Work done in residential premises and home based
work leads to exposure of family memberse.g child’s
consumption of caustic soda and ensuing
oesophageal stricture.
Range of Informal sector workers
4 main groups:
• Manufacturing: block making, soap making,
mining, pottery
• Service-mechanics, welders, carpenters, painters
and plumbers
• Trading; petty traders
• Agriculture- particularly in the rural areas
Distribution of informal enterprises in Nigeria by
activity category CBN/FOS/NISER
Activity category
No of persons
Percentage%
Wholesale and retail
trade
36, 722
49.0
Manufacturing
22, 539
30.1
Repairs (cars, cycles and
goods)
2, 406
3.2
Transportation (land and
water)
2, 164
2.9
Hotels and restaurants
1, 948
2.6
Building and
construction
1, 375
1.8
Health and Social work
637
0.9
Water supply
458
0.6
Real estate/renting
services
300
0.4
Education
298
0.4
Informal sector and OHS
• OHS services do not usually cover informal
sector
• Dr. El Batawi- an Egyptian occupational
physician who served as CMO in the office of
Occupational Health WHO, Geneva several
decades ago referred to them as “the forgotten
masses.”
FIGURE 23.3a. The informal sector at work: Petty manufacturing.
(a) Making blocks for house construction, Kano, Nigeria. Photo: Roy Maconachie.
From Africa South of the Sahara, 3rd edition, by Robert Stock. Copyright 2013 by The Guilford Press.
Carpentry
Vulcanizer
Bicycle repair
Lagos!
Work conditions
• Premises
- road side
- market
- residential
• Workshops
-no toilet facilities for toilet
- poor water supply
-poor lighting
-poor ventilation
-poor housekeeping
Occupational exposures
• Physical hazards
 Noise – mill workers
 Light – welders
• Chemical hazards
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Petro chemicals – mechanics
Pb – battery chargers
solvents- printers, painters, sprayers
Hg – gold mining
Alkalis – soap Mх
Occupational exposures
• Biological
▫ G.I. organisms – poor food and water sources
▫ Food grains, dust
▫ Other infections in the work place e.g HIV
• Mechanical
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Lifting ,
Heavy physical work
Wrong postures, bending, twisting
Poorly designed tools
Unsafe work practices
Occupational exposures
• Psychological
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Long working hours
Poor remuneration
No job security
Relationships with opposite sex
Health problems of Informal sector
workers
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Musculoskeletal disorders
Low back pain
Respiratory disorders
Injuries
Dermatitis
Noise induced hearing loss
Artisans
• Mechanics
(Omokhodion & Osungbade 1996)
▫ Hand dermatitis 25%
▫ Cuts and bruises 35%
▫ Low back pain 9%
• Saw mill workers
(Fatusi & Erhabor 1996)
▫ Musculoskeletal disorders 69%
▫ Conjunctivitis 41%
▫ Tinnitus 34%
• Gas welders (Erhabor, Fatusi, Ndububa 1992)
▫ Chronic bronchitis 13%
▫ Eye irritation 51%
Artisans
• Mill workers (Omokhodion & Kolude 2005)
▫
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Headaches 73%
Low back pain 53%
Rhinitis 63%
Tinnitus 28%
Hearing loss 3%
• Printers (Omokhodion et al 2013)
▫ Musculoskeletal disorders 28%
▫ Low back pain 20%
▫ Respiratory symptoms 12%
Occupational health and Safety needs
• Database on OHS in the informal sector;
exposures and health effects-short and long
term; health problems and health needs
• Regulatory arm of OHS establishment to oversee
the sector
Occupational health and safety needs
• Training in identification of hazards and
implementing practical solutions
• Low cost personal protective equipment
• Workplace improvement with low cost materials
• Access to microcredit
Occupational Health and Safety needs
• Needs can be met within the primary health care
setting.
• Primary health care:
• It is the first level of contact of individuals, the family
and community with the national health system
bringing health care as close as possible to where
people live and work.
• Need to train primary health care workers
• Visits to workplaces
Occupational health needs
• Raise awareness about occupational health and
safety issues
• Health and safety posters, pamphlets
• Waste disposal- avoiding public health nuisance
• Residential waste collectors will not take
industrial wastes; so informal workers engage in
dumping of wastes.
• Low cost solutions to ergonomic hazards
A Mechanic Workshop-some practical low
cost solution- appropriate technology
Use of gloves to reduce contact with chemicals such as
engine oil, petrol, lubricants
SOEHPON
• Needs to be relevant to the needs of the
forgotten masses
• Should continue dialogue with leaders of the
various workgroups
• Assist government to collate data about
exposures
• Provide guidelines for regulation of informal
sector workers
• Make definite efforts to assist government to
incorporate occupational health into the primary
health care system to serve the needs of these
workers
35
2012 Mabayoje College
lecture