Driving Implementation of Employees Compensation Scheme

The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has resolved to dialogue with employers of labour for compliance with the Employees Compensation Scheme. It is also working to smoothen the path to the implementation of its added mandate of providing social

The Employees Compensation Scheme (ECM) was established in 2011 following the passage of the Employees Compensation Act (ECA) in 2010. The act, which replaced the Workmen’s Compensation Act, introduced a new dispensation to the management of the much needed compensation for workers who get injured in and out of employment or who lose their lives in the line of work.

With a takeoff grant of N1.5 billion, the scheme not only provides compensation, but provides vocational, rehabilitation and counselling services for the injured workers. The scheme has already paid out over N200 million as compensation while claims worth N500 million are being considered.

Although it is mandatory for all employers to subscribe to the scheme by enrolling their staff, the NSITF, which is saddled with the responsibility of implementing the ECS has chosen to tow the path of engaging employers in dialogue for voluntary compliance. The NSITF is working closely with the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) to sensitise employers on the benefits of being a part of the scheme. Through courtesy calls, sensitisation meetings with employers and employees for interactive sessions, the NSITF has been able to get 25,076 employers registered under the scheme with about 85 per cent of them complying fully by making their contributions up to date.

Federal Government agencies by default, are a part of the scheme, the onerous task remains getting private sector organisations on board.

Managing Director of the NSITF, Mallam Munir Abubakar responding to enquiries from THISDAY said over 20,000 private sector employees were enrolled on the ECS as at January 2015. He listed their employers to include Julius Berger PLC, Cappa & D’Alberto, West Africa Container, Dantata & Sawoe Ltd, SCC Nig Ltd, Standard Plastic Industries Ltd, Asia Plastic Industries Ltd, Premier Feeds Mill and SCHLUMBERGER Support.

Others are ABC Transport PLC, De-United Foods Ltd, DUFIL PRIMA FOODS LTD, Tower Galvanized Products, Tower Aluminium, Hwa Chong Household Utilities Co. Ltd, Benin Owena River Basin Authority, Royal Birds Motel Ltd, Ibom Power Company Ltd, Atlantic Shrimpers Ltd and Yale Foods Ltd.

Others are Notore Chemicals Ltd, Spintex Mills Nig. Ltd, Salini Nig. Ltd, Gilmor Engineering Nig. Ltd, Dangote Agro Sacks, Eco Bank, UBA Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, GTBank Plc, Aero Contractors Co Nig. Ltd, Dana Plast, Lagos Airport Hotel, Guardian Newspaper, Olashore International School, Zamani College , St. Kizito Catholic College, Sheraton Abuja Hotel, Eko Hotel Ltd, Consolidated Brewries and G. O. G. Energy Resources Ltd.

Abubakar noted that the scheme would continue to create room for dialogue in its effort to see to the efficient implementation of the scheme.

“This approach is necessary considering the fact that the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS) is a social security scheme (- work injury benefit under the ILO identified 9 branches of social security) and judging from experiences in other international jurisdictions, where it has been established that social security schemes work better whenever social dialogue, involving the implementing Agency, the social partners, the government and the civil society (tripartite plus) is allowed to thrive,” he said.

He however noted that difficult and recalcitrant employers would be cautioned through legal actions as the need arises; beginning from this year 2015, which NSITF has declared as the year of total compliance by all covered employers.

“Such recalcitrant employers will be visited by NSITF Management to see if they can be persuaded to comply. However, where that persuasion fails and the employer remains adamant, appropriate legal action will be taken against them,” Abubakar added.

The NSITF-NECA Safe Workplace Intervention Project, he explained was drawn up to provide incentives to employers who voluntarily comply with the nationally drawn Occupational Safety and Health standards.

“The incentives include the award of Ambulances and several infrastructural Aids for the maintenance of safe working environment. This is helping greatly to achieve a vital aspect of the ECS – prevention of workplace accidents/diseases through improvement in quality of health and safety and provision of accident prevention infrastructure in contributing companies,” he explained.

A recent amendment to the act establishing the NSITF has now empowered the fund with the responsibility of providing social security to the aged and unemployed. Social security is a collective care arrangement to meet contingencies and other conditions of insecurity due to either deprivations or contingencies or both. It provides collective remedies against adversity and deficiency, The amendment is awaiting assent by President Goodluck Jonathan. Modalities for the implementation, which would consider benefiting demography and income amount are being worked out.

Basic social security guarantees that indigent citizens, over their life cycles can afford and have access to essential healthcare and income security at least at a nationally defined minimum level.

Under the amendment, all persons ordinarily resident in Nigeria will have the financial protection to access a nationally defined set of essential healthcare services including maternal healthcare, all children will enjoy income security at a nationally defined minimum level through family/ child benefits in cash or in kind aimed at facilitating access to nutrition, education and care.

Those who are unable to earn sufficient income will enjoy minimum income security through social assistance; maternity benefits, disability benefits, and other social transfer in cash or in kind.

Abubakar noted that the amendment debunks that notion that social security is too expensive a venture to embark on. He added that those who need the social security coverage are mostly in the informal sector.

“The adversity aspect is addressed through a contingent social security such as the recent Employee Compensation Act. The problem of deficiency is directly addressed through the provision of a basic social security. The two dimensions are complementary and are closely related to the problem of human poverty reduction and development,” he said.

“Statutory schemes such as contributory and tax-financed programmes do not cover more than five to 10 percent of the labour force and or population; while over 60 percent of Nigeria’s population lacks any type of social security protection,” he added.

The former President General of the Trade Union Congress, Comrade Peter Esele who was part of the struggle for the passage of the ECA, raised pertinent questions on the new mandate particularly on its sustainability.

“We must ask ourselves where the resources will come from? Who are the beneficiaries? What qualifies one to be beneficiary?,” he said.

Esele lauded the amendment describing it as a welcome development, which would further widen the window of benefits to more vulnerable groups in the country. He harped on the necessity of ensuring that the amendment is implemented in a manner that even beneficiaries would not be parasitic to the society.

“We must have accurate statistics on the number of unemployed persons we have; how many elderlies need social protection and how many of them still have means of generating one form of income or the other?”

These are crucial issues. It is necessary for the NSITF to ensure that social security does not become an excuse for laziness, as is currently happening in other climes where some take advantage of the scheme to cheat the system.