ABSTRACT
This
research project tends to examine Occupational Hazards among Hawkers in Pen
Cinema Area of Agege, Lagos State.
Survey design
was employed with the use of a well structured questionnaire. Respondents were
selected based on simple random sampling technique. Sample size of One Hundred
(100) respondents were selected from the staff of 7up Bottling Company Plc.
Three
hypotheses were formulated and tested with the use of Chi-Square analysis. The
analysis resulted to rejecting all null hypotheses and hence accepting the
three alternate hypotheses.
Based on decisions of the tested hypotheses
conclusions were reached that; there is significant relationship
between occupational hazards and hawking;
there is relationship between physical environments in which hawker's work and lack of proper infrastructure like dean
running water.
It was recommended that governments adopt a developmental approach to street
trading that includes trading sites with secure tenure and infrastructure such
as shelter; tables; water and sanitation. Also
policy reform in
terms of issuing trading permits and developing regulations for renting trading
sites is imperative.
.
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.1
Introduction
1.2
Statement Of
Problem
1.3
Research Questions
Objectives Of Study
1.4
Scope And Delimitation Of
Study Definition Of Terms
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Literature
Review
2.3 Theoretical Orientation
2.4 Conceptual Framework
2.5 Hypotheses/Proposition
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
3.2 The
Study Population
3.3 Sample Size
and Sampling Procedures
3.4 Research Instrument and Data Collection
Methods
3.5 Method of Data Amalysis
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND PRESENTA TION
4. 1 Intoduction
4.2 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of
Respondents
4.3 Presentation
and Analysis of Data According
To Research Questions
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary
5.2 Conclusion
5.3 Recommendations
5.4 References
5.5 Appendix
CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Street hawking,
which is the act of selling retail goods directly on busy city streets is a
major phenomenon in developing countries. In most African cites the problem is
especially acute, and Lagos, the Nigerian commercial capital is no exception.
Street hawking arises primarily because of rural-urban migration, unemployment,
and the increasing number of school dropouts; It serves as a source of
livelihood and in addition, an avenue also, to supplement family income. Rural
poor youth moving into the city in search of non-existent jobs fail to find
employment because of lack of education and employable skills.
They end up as
street hawkers selling wares on major city streets (Asiedu, et al 2008).
Deaths, accidents
and infections from the workplace have been contributing immensely to the
global mortality rate. Annual death toll from unsafe occupation reported for
2006 was 1.1 million people. The recorded cases of fatalities in the workplace
that led to complete disability was about 300,000 out of 250 million while over
160 million people were victims of work-related diseases (Ilo, 2006; WHO, 2006;
llo, 2008; WHO, 2010)
Generally, both
women and men are found concentrated in certain occupation, face similar
conditions at work and experience the same workplace hazards.
In Sub-Saharan
Africa region, working women are also traditionally responsible for the
household chores. However, both sexes are physically different and women are
more sensitive considering their reproductive roles. Gender variations are
difficult to specify especially for a low-income economy. The global figures
for 2008 show that out of 337 million occupational accidents, 358,000 were confined
as fatal, while deaths from occupational related illness were 651,000 (WHO, 2010;
ILO, 2006; ILO, 2008; Lu, 2(11). Observation from these data show that there is
almost 77 percent increase in death toll from
unsafe workplace
between 2006 and 2008, 35 percent increase between the same period while the
number of fatal accident increased by 19 percent.
Women make up 45%
of the employed population in the EU (European Union for Safety and Health at
Work, 2012), they constitute about 31.2 percent of Nigeria labour force (Eweama, 2009; National Bureau of Statistics
(NBS1 2010). Across the Eastern, Middle, Western and Southern Africa regions,
about 37, 25, 22 and 2 percent of girls respectively in age between 10 and 14 were economically active in the year 1990
(ILO, 1990; Bledsoe & Cohen 1993). The proportion in the
next older age (15-19 years) was 62, 39, 45 and 29 percent respectively in the
same year (ILO, 1990; Bledsoe & Cohen, 1993).
In Nigeria, the
proportion of women in labour force is unfavorably compared to the men. A
change in this paradigm as currently been driven by gender equality agenda
(including equal employment opportunities and support for women enterprises
that were enshrined in MDG 3 (UN, 2003; NPC & USAID, 2004; Oyekanmi, 2008; Commission on Legal
Empowerment of the Poor, 2008) can only be successfully achieved with the
provision of safe working environment for women.
The concentration
of women in micro-enterprises with diverse methods of operations makes it more
important to address the gender dimension in health and safety at workplace.
Healthy and safe work environments can enhance, and are synonymous with quality
jobs and output (Muir, 1974; Alli, 2001). It is
envisaged that quality outputs would impact on women's earnings and might keep
them in employment. Thus, attention must be paid to the health and safety of
the jobs that women do.
However, men and
women are not the same neither is their jobs and the working conditions they
are exposed to the same. Likewise, the ways they are treated in the society
also differ. These factors can affect the hazards they face at work and the
approach that needs to be taken to assess and control them. Women are always at
the receiving end of most social and economic hazards (National Population Commission
and USAID, 2004) and street trading is not an exception.
"A hawker can
be defined as a person who offers goods for sale to the public without having a
permanent built-up structure from which to sell" (Asiedu, Ag yei-Mensah,
2008 Pg1). Street hawking exposes the individual to the risk of potential
accidents, loss of lives, abuse, reproductive health problems, easy prey to
crime and prostitution as well as a number of other social problems. In addition, street hawkers retard national
growth because they cannot be taxed to provide revenue for the government,
impede traffic, increase travel time and fuel
costs thus increasing transportation costs and the average costs of dory
business (Davis, 2008). In addition,
hawkers operate in unsafe public spaces where they have to man oeuvre between
cars and motors to make their living at the risk of losing their lives and at
the mercy of the weather, crime amongst other factors.
Street hawking is
therefore, a negation of the international convention on the rights of the child. It is indeed inhuman
for anyone to engage a child in money making
venture. Such a child is denied basic education which is another reign of every
child. Hence, child labour refers to the ill-treatment of a child by his
parents or any other adult. Edu and Edu (2009) describe child abuse as a
willful maltreatment of a child. Such maltreatment according to them (In include acts of commission (abuse) and
omission (neglect).
A narrow
definition of child abuse is limited to life-threatening physical violence,
including severe beatings, bums and strangulation which are inflicted on
children by the adult members of the community. A broader definition however, lays
emphasis on any treatment other than the most favourable care, and includes neglect, sexual or emotional
abuse and exploitation. Whichever way, child abuse is the flagrant abuse of
children's God-given and constitution-guaranteed freedom, comfort and peace, by
adults in the society.
Therefore, this
study examines occupational hazards affecting hawkers along Lagos-Badagry
Expressway.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Over the past few
decades, employment in the informal sector has risen rapidly in most regions of the developing countries including
Nigeria. The reason for this has been the
failure of the formal sector, which has traditionally been m important source
of employment generation to absorb the multitudes of semi-skilled and
unskilled persons to the city of Lagos State and due to tile weakness of the government and modern
private sector to generate adequate employment in recent years.
Street traders
face more routine occupational hazards as well. Many must 1ft heavy loads of
goods to and from their point of sale each day.
The physical
environments in which they work typically lack proper infrastructure, such
clean running water, toilets, and solid waste removal. Street vendors' are
exposed to physical harm from the improper provision of fire safety equipment
and the improper regulation of traffic in commercial areas. They are also exposed to a high concentration of air
pollutants and to inclement weather. These physical risks take a particular
toll on young children who must accompany their mothers to vend in the streets.
According to
Palmer (2007) support for skills development in the informal economy, which is
by far the largest destination for school leavers, is virtually non-existent,
hence, the most important issue being highlighted in relation to the phenomenon
of street hawking is the issue of skills training and development to improve
the status of these hawkers and to remove them from the situations they find
themselves in being on the street. Despite the benefits of easier access to
retail goods that the hawkers provide to drivers, motorists and pedestrians,
there are high costs to their presence on the street.
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In this study,
attempt will be made to provide answers to the following questions
·
What are the factors responsible for increase in hawking
in pen cinema area, Agege?
·
Is there any law that safeguard or prevent
hawkers from commercial drivers in the traffic in Lagos state?
·
What are the health challenges or risks hawkers are
exposed to?
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This study is
primarily aimed at examining occupational hazards among hawkers in pen cinema,
Agege. However, the following are the objectives and it is to:
·
To examine the remote and immediate causes of hawking in
pen cinema, Agege.
·
'To examine the various occupational hazard among hawkers
in pen cinema, Agege
·
To find out the availability of environments where
hawkers work.
·
To examine the physical hazard face by the hawker in pen
cinema, Agege.
·
To examine the health implication of hawking on the
hawkers in pen cinema, Agege.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The research work
was taken up to show the significance of occupational hazards affecting hawkers
in Lagos State. In other words, it is expected that
the study will educate readers on the implication of street trading.
Finally, the
results of this study should help scholars, students, health workers,
administrators, financial experts, educational planners, decision makers,
government agencies and upcoming researchers in the conduct of future research.
It will also provide useful information which will enable them useful and
positive decisions that will help move forward our economy. This study will
also contribute to the existing literature on occupational hazards and child labour.
1.6 SCOPE AND
DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The area of this
study centered occupational hazards among hawkers in Agege. It covers areas
like the causes of hawking, the physical environments in which hawkers work. In
the same vein, the study covers physical harm from improper regulation of
traffic in commercial areas, especially within the stipulated area and how it
affects them. It is restricted to the study area only.
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