The NSITF has said it is ready to employ legal means to compel erring employers to comply with the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS).
This is even as it announced that 87,179 employers have been registered under the ECS to affirm their compliance with the ECA 2010.
This was in response to the move by the House of Representatives to enforce compliance with the ECS.
Speaking at a retreat in Lagos, the managing director, NSITF, Mr. Adebayo Somefun, said the number covers more than 6.7 million employees.
He said the increase in registration has thus far accounted for a 35 per cent increase in contribution collection.
He, however, said the number is still small compared to what the law says: all employees, including domestic staff, should be covered.
Somefun noted that the organisation has tried all other means to ensure compliance, and the NSITF is now ready to go to the next stage of employing litigation against any defaulting employer.
He said: “In order to boost statutory compliance by employers of labour and to shore up contributions so that a meaningful Employees’ Compensation Scheme can be provided to Nigerian workers, the present management sought the assistance of the House of Representatives.
“Consequently, the House moved a motion to enforce compliance to the ECS and two public hearings have been held on the motion. As part of the response to this, a total number of 87,179 employers have been registered under the ECS to affirm their compliance with the ECA 2010.”
He said more than 24,880 claims and compensations have been paid to beneficiaries under different contingencies in the last two years.
“Employees’ compensation is our primary function and we have not failed in this regard. In the last two years, since this management team took over, 24,880 claims and compensation have been paid to beneficiaries under different contingencies. This is a record in the history of the fund.
“Within two years of our administration, NSITF has rehabilitated 42 persons, making the total of 54 since implementation of the scheme in 2011.
“This process entails providing prosthetic limbs for employees who lost a limb in accidents while at work and training such employees on the usage of the artificial limbs,” Somefun said.
en to promote transparency and accountability in the Fund by putting in place a structure for corporate governance.
His words: “As a departure from the past, we are presently implementing a procurement policy and solidifying our partnership with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
“This means that every procurement process must now be advertised, formal bidding conducted before the award of job is made to the most competent bidder. “The introduction and diligent observance of this due process in procurement activities is in line with the Federal Government’s anti- corruption crusade.”