Bimbola Oyesola , [email protected]
In a bid to ensure that all workers in the country are well protected and taken care of from injury, the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has commenced widening its net to cover workers in the informal sector.
This is even as the organization has paid over N3 billion by September 2019 as compensation to different degrees of injury including death.
Speaking at the Fund’s special day at the just concluded Lagos International Trade Fair at the weekend, the NSITF Lagos General Manager, Mrs. Olufunke Alesinloye said the Fund is already holding meetings with members of the informal sector to ensure that they are captured in the Employees Compensation Scheme (ECS).
“We have held meetings twice with those in the informal sector. Those at the meetings comprises, market women and other artisans cutting across several trades”, she said.
She however noted that the challenges of capturing the informal sector lies with record keeping, but added that this may not be insurmountable.
She said, “Just like PENCOM which started in 2004 and only been able to pluck in the informal sector this year, we are also working seriously to device means by which we can get them organised.
“We know we cannot have all the sectors take off at the same time, but definitely the workers in the informal sector can register. Even a one man business owner can register, but there must be some identification that country will recognize.”
Alesinloye said self employed worker who has a tax identification number with proper tax return can immediately register and begins tapping into opportunities available in the scheme.
She explained that the scheme registers only employers, but it is employees that get the claim.
The Lagos General Manager added that the Fund whose board has representatives from workers’ group, Employers group and government has recorded giant strides in the ECS.
She stated, “As at 30th September, we’ve paid over N3 billion, received 32,000 claims. We have 391 numbers of dependants from those who died and we are supporting the family until the last child is 18. For disability benefits, we have 496, given arms and legs to 54. In payments to families who lost their members, we have those receiving N1.8, N1.7, and N1.2 as monthly payment. For those with disability, the highest paid is in the oil and gas, N721,000 and another in the Army, N291,000 monthly respectively. There’s also an helicopter accident, there’s no dependant, but we paid aggregate of his five years salary to his family.”
Earlier in his address, the President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Babatunde Ruwase commended the efforts of NSITF in enhancing employee productivity by ensuring the welfare of employees are catered for.
According to him, a company’s success is not only measured by the profit and margin it declares, but also by the state of wellbeing of its workers.
“We want to use this medium to encourage the board and the management team of NSITF not to relent in its advocacy for better employee welfare as a productive economy is a reflection of a produtive labour force,” he said.
He also added that the upward review of the National Minimum Wage from N18,000 to N30,000 is a positive for employee’s living standard, stating that it is coming at a time when income per head has been on a downtrend in the last four years.