By Victor Ahiuma-Young

The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF, has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting Nigerian workers and ensuring that families of employees who die in the course of their duties are not abandoned.

Managing Director of NSITF,  Oluwaseun Faleye, stated this during a panel session at the International Civil Service Conference in Abuja, where stakeholders discussed inclusive public services for women, youths, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. He emphasized that through the Employees’ Compensation Scheme, ECS, the Fund provides social protection and financial support to workers and their dependants when workplace accidents, injuries, diseases, disabilities or deaths occur.

Represented by the Fund’s Abuja Regional Manager, Mrs Bridget Ashang, Faleye said the scheme serves as a critical safety net for vulnerable groups, particularly workers and their families.

“NSITF runs the Employees’ Compensation Scheme, a social protection, social security scheme for employees in the course of work. If there is any incident that leads to injury, disability, disease, or even death, we take care of dependents until the last child is 21 or a graduate of a tertiary institution. That’s the vulnerable group we talk about,” he said.

According to him, the Fund’s mandate goes beyond paying compensation, as it places greater emphasis on preventing workplace accidents and creating safer work environments.

“For NSITF, our core mandate, actually, is compensation for employees if there is any incident in the course of work. However, we realize that prevention is better than compensation, and that’s why we are leading when it comes to Occupational Safety and Health,” he stated.

He explained that the Fund regularly conducts workplace safety audits and advises employers on measures needed to eliminate hazards and improve working conditions.

“So, yes, we’ve got to carry out this audit to say, yes, this is what is wrong, this should be here, and then there’s something we call corrective actions. We guide you, we advise, and we accommodate,” he said.

Faleye argued that workers constitute one of the most overlooked vulnerable groups in society despite the risks they face daily.

“I want to specifically talk about a specific vulnerable group that, maybe at times, we don’t even consider as vulnerable. Those who wake up very early in the morning, get ready, no matter the weather, at times wearing suits or certain gowns, commute to work, stay at work, and do all sorts of work,” he said.

He noted that discussions on social protection often focus on children, pregnant women, and pensioners, while the welfare of active workers receives less attention.

“Almost all the time, it goes straight from children, infancy, straight all the way to pension. What about the work group? The most vulnerable group in the world all the time, commutes to work, at work, or putting their shoes on and moving things up and down. And that is where NSITF comes in,” he added.

The NSITF boss further disclosed that many cases of disability arise from workplace incidents, underscoring the need for employers to prioritize safety and inclusivity.

“Talking about the topic now, we come to the fact that we always believe prevention is better than cure, because in our course of work, in the course of our running the scheme, the Employees’ Compensation Scheme, we’ve seen that disabilities at times arise from the course of work,” he said.

“One of the things we ensure first and foremost, and we promote, and we talk about, is safe, healthy, inclusive workplaces. We come around, and we do what we call an Occupational Safety Net in the workplace.”

He added that accessibility and workplace inclusion for persons living with disabilities, women and youths remain key priorities of the Fund.

“And one of the things we talk about is accessibility, and other things that are protected, those things that would ensure inclusivity of those who are living with certain disabilities, of women, of youth, and all of that,” he said.

Faleye, however, expressed concern that existing laws do not provide sanctions against employers who fail to implement recommended safety measures.

“Our law actually says, go out there, make sure the employees are properly taken care of while they are working. And if there’s an incident, we step in, but we like to say we believe in prevention. Prevention is better than cure, so we ensure that. Unfortunately, there are no sanctions,” he lamented.

The panel session also featured prominent public sector leaders, including Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Kachallom Daju; Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Olubunmi Olusanya; Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice and Solicitor-General of the Federation, Beatrice J.D. Agba; Dr Jake Epelle; Hansatu Adegbite; and Kristin Envig.