We’re building safer, fairer workspaces for Nigerians — NSITF MD
By Ukpono Ukpong
The Managing Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Barrister Oluwaseun Faleye, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to creating safer and more equitable work environments for Nigerian workers.
Speaking at the ongoing 113th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva, Faleye emphasized that the NSITF is driving workplace health and safety audits, deepening social security coverage, and ensuring timely compensation for job-related injuries, all in line with global labour standards.
Faleye described the ILC as “a veritable platform for engagement” on key issues relating to workers’ welfare, workplace health and safety, and social security.
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“This sort of platform is great for advocating a lot of things that relate to place of work. One, the safety of workers in different forms. Second is the enhancement of workers’ welfare to further build the resilience in workplace that we strive for. It has been a great platform for us to share ideas, to deepen our capacity, and of course, to enhance further collaboration with the ILO itself, and sister organizations that are all interested in enhancing workplace safety.
“So far, for me and my colleagues, really, it has been a veritable platform for engagement,” he said.
The NSITF boss noted that the agency is currently conducting Health and Safety Environment (HSE) audits across workplaces in Nigeria to ensure employees’ safety, in line with the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions.
“This is why we collaborate with employers to make workplaces safe and further deepen all of the issues regarding health and safety in workplace. That’s why we’re at the forefront of undertaking HSE audits in relevant organizations and creating the awareness and of course, the way it works for us here when we come to a platform like this is to further broaden our knowledge and our capacity in bringing cutting-edge standards relating to HSE so that we can take it back home and further engage within that ecosystem,” Faleye said.
He stressed that workplace safety and decent working conditions fall squarely within the mandate of the NSITF.
“So for us, promoting decent work is really doing more within that core mandate of HSE and that takes us to the other issue of employee compensation itself when there are injuries.
“The synergy between a decent and safe working environment also impacts on employee injury and the threshold about that. So, when we improve HSE components within workplaces, you see that injuries and all of that come relatively down,” he added.
Faleye also gave assurances on prompt response to claims for injuries sustained in the workplace under the Employee Compensation Scheme.
“We’re also very open and responsible to our mandate regarding prompt payment of compensation, and we’ll continue to do that,” he said.
He noted that the NSITF is actively engaging with the Federal Government to operationalize the Employee Compensation Scheme across public service institutions.
“Federal government has always been ready. The law is a federal law, so that readiness is there. I think it’s implementation that has been the issue, and we’ve engaged with them. The Office of the Head of Service is engaging with us to ensure that, that engagement or that operationality is sustained, and we’ll push that going forward,” Faleye explained.
He further elaborated on the process of workplace audits, saying: “In terms of workplace audit, as a subscriber, as an employer, if you are subscribed to the scheme, it’s our responsibility to then come in at intervals to audit your workplaces, and to also give you tips and awareness and create awareness within your organization as to what a safe working environment should be. We are responsible and open to that responsibility. We’ll continue to really drive that initiative within the employer’s ecosystem in Nigeria.”
Faleye revealed that the Fund is also extending its coverage to the informal sector, noting the immense potential and growing interest from that segment.
“We will continue to engage. Part of our key work is really advocacy and I’m happy with the response we’ve gotten so far,” he said.
According to him, “once people hear the benefits and the advantages of the employees’ compensation scheme, we tend to get very robust and very positive response and I’m glad about that.”
He reaffirmed the NSITF’s commitment to delivering on its mandate and leveraging global platforms like the ILC to further strengthen its systems, practices, and engagement for the benefit of Nigerian workers.
