The Nigeria Employees Consultative Association NECA is partnering with the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund NSITF to ensure that workers are safe and healthy in their places of employment.
At a media briefing jointly organised by NECA and the NSITF in Abuja, the Director General and CEO, NECA, Mr Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, said that responsible business conduct is something that NECA is very particular about saying that members of the Association will be penalised if they are found wanting in that aspect.
The media briefing is within the framework of the Safe Workplace Intervention Project SWIP.
“Businesses must operate ethically on all forms, so it’s an issue for us.
“If an employer is not putting in the necessary infrastructure to guarantee safety, then we should blow the whistle.
“A gap that exists in compliance, I think the biggest gap that exists in compliance is knowledge and awareness, so there are some things you think they are not hazardous, but until you hear the experts analyze those issues, then you know that these things are basically hazardous,” Oyerinde said.
Stressing on the importance of awareness and knowledge in the workplace, Mr Oyerinde expressed the hope that the publicity from the media briefing would help in assisting some organizations that are not up to par, to upscale minimally in the context of the resources that are available, to also reduce the incident of accidents in their premises.
Speaking on the 2025 SWIP, the Managing Director of NSITF, Mr Olúwaṣeun Faleye said that SWIP was conceived as a practical response to a persistent national challenge that is, the reality that too many Nigerian workers remain exposed to avoidable workplace risks, and too many employers still do not fully understand, or comply with, the protections provided under the Employees’ Compensation Act ECA, 2010.
He believes that growth should be anchored on protection and respect for workers adding that economic activities and growth are anchored on the protection, responsibility to, and respect for the Nigeria worker.
“The core purpose of SWIP is simple but profound: To save lives, protect livelihoods, and strengthen productivity by making workplace safety and compliance the norm rather than the exception.
“Experience has shown us that laws alone do not change behaviour. The Employees’ Compensation Act is robust, but its effectiveness depends on awareness, trust, and consistent engagement.
“Many workplace injuries and fatalities occur not out of malice, but because safety systems are weak, risks are poorly understood, or compliance is viewed narrowly as a regulatory burden,” he said.
He explained that WIP was designed to close this gap and bring the law to life by translating statutory provisions into practical understanding connecting employers to the real business value of compliance while reinforcing the idea that workplace safety is not an abstract obligation but a human, economic, and productivity imperative.
Faleye called on the media to help escalate workplace safety to national priority.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Salihu Usman, in a message said the Safe Workplace Intervention Project is a clear demonstration of what can be achieved through effective collaboration between governments, employers, and social security institutions.
“I am particularly pleased that the audit components of this year’s project covered no fewer than 200 workplaces in all six the geopolitical zones of the country, with the active technical participation of the Ministry’s Occupational Safety and Health Department.
“The Ministry’s involvement as the audit technical and implementation partner was aimed at ensuring that the process was conducted in line with national occupational health and safety standards and global best practises,” Usman explained.
He stressed that safe workplaces are not aspirational but achievable when “leadership, regulation and responsibility work together, exactly as intended by the ECA of 2010”.