By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA — THE Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF, has advocated for stronger legal enforcement of the Employees’ Compensation Scheme, ECS, to ensure the Employees’ Compensation Act, ECA, achieves its goal of improving worker welfare and workplace safety.
The Fund emphasizes shifting institutional accountability from persuasion to strict enforcement.
Managing Director of NSITF, Barr Oluwaseun Faleye, highlighted this need through Abuja Regional Manager Mrs. Bridget Ashang at the Labour Correspondents Association of Nigeria, LACAN, annual conference in Abuja.
In a presentation titled “Employees’ Compensation Enforcement: Issues and Challenges in the Oil and Gas Industry,” he stressed the critical importance of a robust compensation framework in the oil and gas sector, given its high-risk nature and complex operations.
According to him: “In the oil and gas industry, where operations involve high capital, complex processes, and significant occupational hazards, the protection of workers through a strong and enforceable compensation mechanism is not only a statutory obligation — it is a moral duty and an ethical necessity.”
“The Employees’ Compensation Act of 2010 was a bold, visionary step by government to protect Nigerian workers against the hazards of their occupations. It replaced the old Workmen’s Compensation regime with a no-fault, employer-funded social insurance system, a safety-net against deprivation and income insecurity.
“In the oil and gas sector, Nigeria’s economic mainstay, this mandate takes on an even deeper urgency. Here, the risks are higher, the stakes greater, and the consequences of neglect, often
devastating.”
Faleye identified key enforcement challenges in the sector, including non-compliance, evasion, outsourcing and casualization of workers, low awareness, weak sanctions, and a poor safety culture.
To address these, NSITF has implemented reforms such as regular employer inspections, digitalizing registration and payment systems, simplifying claims processes, engaging stakeholders actively, strengthening inter-agency collaboration, and promoting workplace safety and health measures.
Looking ahead, Faleye urged a review of the ECA’s enforcement provisions to increase penalties for defaulters.
He proposed making ECS compliance mandatory for licensing and license renewal, establishing a unified labor data system for efficient monitoring, empowering labor inspectors through training and resources to access even the most remote sites, and publicly naming and shaming defaulters.
The ECA 2010 established the Employees’ Compensation Scheme under NSITF’s management, mandating employers to contribute one percent of employees’ salaries to provide fair and adequate compensation, rehabilitation, and support for workers and their dependents affected by workplace injuries, diseases, disabilities, or death.
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