Employees’ Compensation Bill will reduce poverty – NSITF

Managing Director of NSITF, Umaru Abubakar, who disclosed this at a one day forum on the Bill in Lagos on Tuesday, explained that the Employees’ Compensation Bill is a comprehensive piece of legislation that addresses workers insecurity, safety and anxiety that guarantees decent work and safe work in line with the Convention 102 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

The Bill which is currently before the National Assembly, was conceived by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as a social insurance scheme designed as part of labour reforms to guarantee that Nigerian workers are adequately compensated for any death, injury, disease or disability arising out of or in the course of employment and for matters connected to such.

Umaru, who was represented by the Human Resources Manager of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Mrs Olufunke Aleshinloye said that contrary to the position of operators in the insurance industry that the proposed ECB legislation is an insurance legislation and that the existing Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA) should serve its purpose, the ECB takes care of social security whsoe provisions extends beyond compensation for injury and death.