NSITF Committed to Protecting Vulnerable Workers, Says Faleye
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) said it was committed to preventing and protecting all vulnerable groups, especially people living with disabilities through occupational safety and health.
A statement signed by NSITF’s Deputy General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Alex Mede, said Managing Director of the fund, Mr. Oluwaseun Faleye, gave the undertaking while speaking at the just-concluded International Civil Service Conference in Abuja
Represented by Regional Manager, Abuja, Mrs. Bridget Ashang, Faleye said the fund, through its Employees Compensation Scheme (ESC), ensured that vulnerable employees were not left in the cold.
He stated, “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.”
Faleye added, “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. 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.
“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 besides seeking the well-being of society, social protection was also about reducing infant mortality rates.
The managing director stated, “We want to encourage immunisation, vaccinations, mortality care, taking care of pregnant women, and all of that.
“And I told you earlier about school children, free food, free education, and the next thing, if we all agree, we’ll talk about pension. 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.”
Faleye said while running the scheme, “We’ve seen that disabilities at times arise from the course of work.
“So, 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.
“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.”
Faleye lamented that the law failed to make provision for sanctions.
He stated, “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 it, but we like to say we believe in prevention. Prevention is better than cure, so we ensure that. Unfortunately, there are no sanctions.”
