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Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, Minister of Labour, Employment and Productivity, has called for expansion of Nigeria’s social security system to offer insurance compensation to employees and their dependents in instances of workplace accidents and deaths.
Dingyadi stated that such a policy would boost employees’ confidence in the Nigerian Labour System and improve the livelihood of Nigeria’s workforce and their dependents.
He made this submission in his keynote address during the Joint Committee of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Retreat for Senate, Representatives and Other Stakeholders, themed “Strengthening Social Security and Enhancing Labour Productivity,” which began in Lagos on Monday.
The minister decried the low patronage of the scheme across the Country, saying it poses significant threat to working Nigerians and their dependents who may suffer neglect in the event of life-threatening workplace injury or death.
“It is saddening to note that fifteen years since the Employee Compensation Act came into law, enrollment into the Scheme remains low, robbing affected workers of adequate compensation and turning many breadwinners to liabilities with a bleak future for them and their dependents.This situation prevents our nation from harnessing the full potential and productivity of affected persons,” he said.
Highlighting the strategic role of workers to the Nigerian economy, he noted that there is a dire need for reforms to empower Nigeria’s working population with their due social security, while urging the legislature to expedite action towards creating laws which would provide for a more motivated and sustainable workforce.
“Nigeria’s social security landscape requires strategic reforms to expand coverage, improve benefits, and ensure the sustainability of our social insurance programmes.
“We must strive to create a robust social security system that provides adequate protection for workers against income loss due to unemployment, disability, old age, and other contingencies. A sustainable future in this context captures that of the individual worker and the nation at large. This will go a long way to ensure a holistic repositioning of the Fund, as well as empower it to effectively fulfil its mandate.
“It is my sincere hope that the legislature will work within this event’s deliberations to strategize on the way forward with a view to amending laws as necessary and pass new Bills such as Occupational Safety and Health Bill and the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund Act 2010 to align with the Employees Compensation Act 2010,” he said.
Meanwhile, Oluwaseun Faleye, Managing Director of NSITF corroborating the call for expansion of the employees’ compensation scheme, explained that despite a 151% increase in employee registration and N172.5 million disbursed to beneficiaries, adoption of the of the ESC across the country is still low.
He explained that to drive wide coverage, the NSITF sought the collaboration of the National Assembly to drive compliance from public and private organisations and adoption from the grassroots.
“Between June and July, the NSITF paid a total of N172.5million to beneficiaries on the scheme while employee enrollment in the formal sector rose by 151% to almost 8 million.
“The agency also recorded increased number in the informal sector comprising of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on the scheme from 6,000 to 15,500 summing up to N376 million in contribution collection.
“One of the charges that we gave the National Assembly, being representatives of the people at the grassroots level, is for us to collaborate, think strategically as to how we can improve that compliance at the local government level, at the state level for the benefit of Nigerian workers, because that’s all it is.
“The ECS is mainly to provide a social safety net for all workers, and it’s imperative that those at those levels benefit from that”, he said.
On their part, a Senator representing Imo West District, Osita Isunaso, explained that while the legislature is willing to collaborate with the NSITF, there is a need for the NSITF to begin the process of inter agency collaboration.
Isunaso said, “The Occupational Safety Bill is right now in the National Assembly and we’re working towards it. Beyond the Occupational Safety Bill, there is a need for inter-agency collaboration between NSITF and other agencies of government.”
“They said that about 4.9 million companies are registered in the CSE but only about half of them are compliant. That goes to show that there is no sufficient inter-agency collaboration.”
