Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Protection against Accidents (Dockers) Convention (Revised), 1932 (No. 32) - Nigeria (Ratification: 1961)

Legislation giving effect to the Convention. The Committee notes that the Government refers in its 2017 report to the following texts giving effect to the Convention: the Factories Act, as amended in 2004, and its implementing regulations, the Docks (Safety of Labour) Regulations, 1958, and the Docks (Sanitary Accommodation) Regulations, 1958; the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Act, 2007; and the Nigerian Merchant Shipping Act, 2007. The Government also indicates that it is in the process of drafting a bill on occupational safety and health that will specifically address the issue of the safety and health of port workers in accordance with international best practices and current realities. The Government adds that it is in the process of developing regulations on lifting equipment and allied work equipment. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in the adoption of these laws and regulations and to provide copies once they are adopted.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee recalls that since 2001 it has been asking the Government to provide information on the application of the Convention in practice. In its report, the Government included a report of an investigation of the accident that led to the death of two dockworkers in 2006 at terminal C of the Tincan Port in Lagos. The Committee observes that, according to this investigation, the safety measures adopted by the subcontractor were inadequate. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the application of the Convention in practice including, for example, relevant extracts from inspection reports and current statistics on the number and nature of the violations reported and on the number, nature and cause of the accidents recorded.

Prospects for the ratification of the most up-to-date Convention. The Committee encourages the Government to consider the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 328th Session (October–November 2016) approving the recommendations of the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group, and to consider ratifying the Occupational Safety and Health (Dock Work) Convention, 1979 (No. 152), which is the most up-to-date instrument in this area. The Committee requests the Government to report any developments and recalls that it can avail itself of ILO technical assistance in this regard.