The Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has lauded the contributions to the Nigerian Employee Compensation Scheme (ECS), describing them as a show of commitment to employees by their employers.
Presenting a cheque of over ₦11,000,000 (eleven million naira) lump sum to the family of a deceased bank worker, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Mr Oluwaseun Faleye, said that the benefits being paid by the Fund to the beneficiaries of the Bank were the fruits of commitment of the Bank to its workers’ welfare.
He reiterated the NSITF’s commitment to its responsibilities of promoting safety and health in the workplace and adequate compensation in case of disease, injury or death.
According to him, the family will continue to receive ₦580,000 (five hundred and eight thousand naira) monthly until the last child turns 21 years old.
Presenting the cheque at a brief ceremony at the heaquarters of the bank in Lagos State, the NSITF’s Managing Director noted that the sum represents about twenty months’ arrears in death.
Mr Faleye, who revealed that the deceased died in an accident while in the course of duty, said that the case was the sixth compensation being paid to Unity Bank employees.
He commended the Bank for complying with the Employee Compensation Act by enrolling their employees under the Fund’s Employee Compensation Scheme.
“The benefits being paid by the Fund to the beneficiaries of the Bank are the fruits of commitment of the Bank to its workers’ welfare.
The NSITF is committed to its responsibilities of promoting safety and health in the workplace and adequate compensation in case of disease, injury or death,“ he said.
Responding, the Managing Director of the Unity Bank, Mr Ebenezer Kolawole, thanked the NSITF Management for the “continued show of responsibility to Nigerian workers”.
He promised to sustain the collaborations between the two organisations and vowed to always put the welfare of Union Bank employees on the front burner.
This presentation is one in a series of presentations the NSITF Management has embarked upon recently.
About the Employee Compensation Scheme (ECS)
The Employee Compensation Scheme (ECS), managed by the NSITF, is a Social Insurance Scheme designed for serving employees. It provides a legal framework to ensure that they are adequately protected with regard to compensation whenever they suffer injuries from work place accidents, any injury in the course of work outside work place, or diseases emanating from working conditions.
It replaced the Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1987 and aims to establish a fair and efficient system.
The Act provides that employers contribute one percent of their employees’ monthly payroll to the Employee Compensation Fund.
This Scheme (ECS) is to be funded through only employers’ contributions as purely social responsibility. Government is only contributing as an employer of labour, while no contribution is expected from the employees.
Coverage is universal for all employees except members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.