‘Why employers should embrace compensations scheme’

The commencement of the Employees Compensation Scheme (ECS) by the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) was influenced by the need to ensure injured workers are no longer abandoned to their fate. The Acting Managing Director of NSITF, Ismail Agaka explained that the safety at workplace is meant to ensure the safety of both employers […]

The commencement of the Employees Compensation Scheme (ECS) by the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) was influenced by the need to ensure injured workers are no longer abandoned to their fate.
The Acting Managing Director of NSITF, Ismail Agaka explained that the safety at workplace is meant to ensure the safety of both employers and employees alike.   
He explained the same goes for the Employees Compensation Scheme (ECS), which some employers thought is for the benefit of workers hence their reluctance to enroll their workforce on the scheme. 
The NSITF boss stressed that it is erroneous for employers to think that the scheme is for the benefit of employees alone saying, “everybody is exposed to one form of occupational hazards or the other in the workplace. So, it is not a question of it does not concern me.”
He argued that joining a scheme that promises treatment and rehabilitation of injured workers in the course of work is a huge incentive for higher productivity.
“Joining this kind of scheme boosts the morale of the employees without shouting it. Boosting the morale of employees is more than just increasing the salaries and allowances,” he said.
The NSITF boss also highlighted that the higher productivity in the workplace always show in the bottom-line of organizations.
His words: “Higher bottom-line means more money coming into the company. It will also lead to better industrial climate in the workplace. A harmonious industrial relation in the country would lead to national cohesion. The burden of care is transferred to the NSITF for an employer should there be any workplace accident, injury, disability or occupational disease. The scheme helps employers overcome unanticipated expenditure especially if such comes when the organization is not financial strong enough for such expenses. How do organization address this kind of development during cash flow challenge? Such development could lead to employees seeing their employers as wicked and uncaring regardless of challenges such employer may be going through.”
Speaking on the benefits inherent in the scheme, Agaka highlighted that compensation also applies to victims of plane crashes who lose their lives in the course of work.
His explanation: “First, if the employer of such a victim of plane crash was registered, the survivor of such a person would be compensated. Secondly, the journey must be in the course of carrying out official duty. If it is confirm that it was an official trip in the course of work, then the next of kin or the dependent of the deceased employee is covered. Indeed, many such claims have been processed by the NSITF.”
While explaining that the NSITF does not operate hospitals where injured workers are treated, he explained that medical bills incurred by organizations for the treatment of injured workers are settled and that NSITF takes over the treatment if it is long term. 
“If there is an accident, the employer owes his or her employee the duty of care by offering that employee at least first aid treatment. It is after the stabilization of the worker that the office now reports to the NSITF and then the process begin. Whatever medical expenses that might have been incurred prior to reporting to the NSITF is refunded. If there is any need for the employee to obtain further rehabilitation as the case may be, it is the responsibility of the NSITF. But the first point is that the employer must be registered on the scheme and also the accident must also be reported to the Fund through a laid down procedure,” he stated.
He said that the Act establishing the ECS only recognizes up to four children as the maximum number of beneficiaries. He added that there is a family whose breadwinner died that presently receives up to N1.3m monthly as compensation under the scheme.
“We have a family whose breadwinner died and after the computation of the entitlements, we are now paying up to N1.3m monthly to the beneficiaries. That represents 90 per cent of the last income of the deceased breadwinner,” Agaka said.
The NSITF boss said as against the pension scheme where individuals can increase the rate of contribution, there is no such provision in the employees scheme.
He said: “The scheme is for people that are working only and not for retirees. There is no provision for any employee to register on his won. Every worker willing to register must come through an employer because the scheme is employers’ obligation.”
Agaka hinted that the NSITF is presently reviewing its contribution rates to serve as an incentive to employers who have recorded low accidents in the workplace while also raising the rate of more susceptible sectors of the economy.
“We are in the process of reviewing our rate of contribution to reflect the risk exposure of organization. While there is risk rating, there would also be merit rating. Merit rating is reviewing downwards the contribution of those that are regular in their contributions and are not in the habit of filling claims for compensation periodically,” he said.
Agaka stated that the scheme so far registered 45,000 employers, paid over N700m as compensation to over 6,000 workers that sustained various degrees of injuries in the course of work.