‘33,900 employers, 7m workers join employees’ scheme’ – NSITF

The Managing Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Umar Munir Abubakar has said that about 33,900 employers and seven million employees have so far joined the Employees Compensation Scheme. Abubakar disclosed this at the NSITF-Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) Safe Workplace Intervention Project (SWIP) held in Port Harcourt recently. He explained that […]

The Managing Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Umar Munir Abubakar has said that about 33,900 employers and seven million employees have so far joined the Employees Compensation Scheme.
Abubakar disclosed this at the NSITF-Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) Safe Workplace Intervention Project (SWIP) held in Port Harcourt recently.
He explained that the increment of employers on the scheme is  because employers now see  the scheme as a move by government to promote safety in the workplace and to ensure that injured workers are not only treated but are rehabilitated.
“This scheme does not only ensure the safety of workers but also promote efficiency and enhance productivity because workers now know that they can work without inhibition because they would be looked after in case of injury or death,’’ he said.
Abubakar warned that any employer that fails to enroll its workers on the scheme would soon face prosecution.
 “The legal department of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has been given marching order to prosecute every non-compliant employer.  We will soon drag these recalcitrant employers to court for prosecution. We will ensure that every employer that have not will now pay from July 2011 to date because this payment is a product of the law and those who flout the law must be made to face the full wrath of the law. We have given enough grace to employers; we have cajoled them and explained why their employees must be covered under the Employees Compensation Scheme Act.”
The NSITF boss also enjoined state governments to enroll their employees on the scheme, even as he said that the federal government has been showing a good example by consistently paying for its employees on the scheme. 
The NSITF boss said the fund is trying to revive artificial body parts manufacturing centres located in Lagos and Enugu, where artificial body parts such as fingers, arm and others could be manufactured in the country.
“Our intention is to run these centres for about six months before implementing others. Our intention is to establish each centre in the six-geopolitical zones of the country. This is a provision that is contained in the Employees Compensation Act,” Abubakar said.
The NSITF helmsman also said that it has perfected plans to develop a checklist of requirements for claims with a view to reducing the amount of time injured employees spend to process entitlements.
Also speaking, the Director General of NECA, Segun Oshinowo, called for the involvement of the Ministry of Labour and Employment in the audit process of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) standards in workplace premises. 
He urged companies to place emphasizes on occupational safety in their various work environment saying, “There is no enough of money that can be paid to an employee for a lost eyes or a lost finger. So, for us in NECA, the focus must always be to ensure that the workplace is safe for every employee.”