NSITF begins implementation of employees’ scheme for public workers

The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has commenced the implementation of the Employees Compensation Scheme (ECS) for all federal public workers in the country.

At a service-wide sensitisation of civil servants in furtherance of the directive, the Managing Director of NSITF, Oluwaseun Faleye lauded the welfare-centred initiatives of the Head of Service, mentioning that the opportunity to serve in the Head of Service Committee for the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2025 (FCSSIP2025), reinforced his commitment to ensuring the implementation of the ECS in the Federal civil service.

He pointed out that while other committee members were talking about housing, health and related issues, NSITF stayed on its core mandate, focusing on surmounting the barriers to the service-wide implementation of the Employees’ Compensation Scheme in the Federal civil service.

Faleye said: “We felt that what was key for us as we shared ideas and discussed initiatives during the strategy sessions we had under the auspices of the FCSSIP2025 was how to sustainably implement and deepen initiatives that were already available but not implemented and ensure that those welfare initiatives are implemented for the benefit of workers in terms of their welfare and social security. In that regard, what was key for us was to ensure that our core mandates were reflected and highlighted as we discussed the initiatives at the FCSSIP2025 and we made the commitment to do everything within our sphere of influence to ensure that those initiatives become a reality.”

The NSITF boss highlighted that NSITF will continue to do all it can to ensure that the barriers that were identified militating against the implementation and operationality of the Employees Compensation Scheme in the Federal Civil Service are surmounted and dealt with.

The NSITF helmsman hinted that the Fund has made some progress, especially in terms of the payment of the obligations related to the financial aspect.

“We continue to engage with the Ministries of Budget and Finance to ensure that there are prompt payments of Federal Government liabilities so that we can then provide these very vital services to civil servants in fulfilment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s promise to always be there for the civil servants that are serving Nigerians.

“Some of the payments have been made, but some are still due, and we will continue to focus on that. But we feel that we now need to undertake a comprehensive stakeholders’ engagement, particularly with the members of staff that will be beneficiaries of this very important welfare Scheme.

We understand that given the uniqueness of what is on offer, it’s now important for us to undertake a much-sustained sensitisation campaign to educate workers on the benefits of the Scheme and the process of making claims under the Scheme.”

In her response, the Head of the Federal Civil Service, Mrs Esther Walson-Jack, pledged her unflinching support to the NSITF towards ensuring that all workers in the public sector benefit from the Scheme.

The head of the Federal Civil Service said the ECS is one Scheme that has been waiting for a robust push to ensure that it is mainstreamed into the civil service welfare package service-wide.

She added: “I recollect that as a Permanent Secretary in the Staff Welfare Office in 2017, we began to talk about the Scheme, which had not yet come on board and I want to say that I am delighted today that we have gotten to this milestone, wherein we are now ready to sensitise civil servants on this very important welfare Scheme as we begin its implementation.”

She assured that her office through the Service Welfare Office will give the NSITF all the support it requires in the implementation of the Scheme in the civil service.

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