By Alexandra Mede
Mr. Alegbe Osaretin, (not real name) is an employee of an “A” rated Federal agency. A trained accountant with a young family, he catered for his family and his aged mother from his salary. He was involved in an auto accident a few years back. The crippling injury he sustained prevented him from further working as an accountant. The trauma later developed into mental illness. Things came tumbling down for the family financially as the loan he took from a cooperative for treatment had eaten into his meagre pension, and the monthly stipend hardly caters for his weekly needs.
Mr. Osaretin is not alone. There are many others who have been left high and dry without compensation or succour after suffering workplace injuries or disabilities. The promising future of many has been truncated for lack of support in the time of crisis. But it is a case of perishing for thirst near the River Niger. It is lack of awareness of a cure that makes people die of curable diseases.
The foregoing informs the current stakeholders engagements embarked on and spearheaded by the Managing Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Barrister Olúwaṣeun Faleye. Since his appointment by President Bola Tinubu last July, Barrister Faleye has emphasized expanding the coverage of the Employee Compensation Scheme (ECS) of the Fund through awareness and sensitisation drive. He, especially, has leveraged inter-agency engagements to foster awareness and understanding of the Fund’s mandates and benefits of enrolling in the ECS.
According to the Managing Director, “the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund is mandated by the Employee Compensation Act 2010 to provide succour to workers who suffer occupational injuries, diseases, disabilities and deaths.” The benefits of the ECS extends beyond mere payment of compensation. According to Barrister Olúwaṣeun Faleye, “It includes medical expenses, rehabilitation and counselling, support for children of the deceased, up to age 21 or graduation, and death benefits.” The MD stated that the brief of the Fund has promotion of workplace safety and health towards prevention of injuries, diseases and deaths in its scope.”
Underscoring the need for awareness and sensitisation and highlighting the pervading paucity of knowledge about the Fund and it’s operations, participants at an engagement meeting with the management of the National Population Commission expressed ignorance of the ECS and derivable benefits. For one of them, a Director, the little he knew about the Fund was from his relative who was a staff member of the NSITF. Another recalled instances of colleagues who had suffered workplace hazards but got no compensation despite persistent calls to the office of the Head of Service of the Federation. Another participant further stated that two of his colleagues died while on duty in one of the States.
Commiserating with the Commission on the loss of the two staff members, Barrister Faleye seized the opportunity to stress the importance of enrolling in the Employee Compensation Scheme, stating that, “in case of death, the deceased worker’s dependants would be compensated monthly with 90% of the monthly salary of the deceased while the children would further be educated up to university level, among other benefits.”
The inter-agency engagements have seen Barrister Faleye leading top management team of the Fund to government agencies, including the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission, ICPC, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC among others. The engagements afford the Fund the opportunity to create awareness of its ECS, promote workplace safety and health as well as foster collaborations.
The Employee Compensation Scheme entails payment of 1% contribution by the employer of the gross earning from staff emoluments to the NSITF, while the employee pays nothing. The coverage, according to Barrister Oluwaseun Faleye includes, work related injuries and diseases, mental stress, permanent temporary disabilities and death.
From the foregoing, it cannot be over-emphasized that the ECS is a worthy initiative of government that requires support from every stakeholder, as not only promotes workplace safety but serves to absorb the shock of social destabilization that follows workplace injuries, diseases or deaths, not just for the direct victims but for their families and dependants. Hence, the untiring efforts of Mr. Faleye are nothing short of commendable and quite encouraging for the nation and humanity.
(Alexandra Mede is Head of Corporate Affairs at NSITF)
