NSITF sets modalities for inclusion in injury compensation

Plans are underway by the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), to accommodate the informal sector on its Employees Compensation Scheme.

With genuine tax identification, employees in the informal sector can now be registered members of the Scheme, and covered when occupational injury occurs.

Speaking during the NSITF Special Day at the just-concluded, 2019 Lagos International Trade Fair, weekend, Lagos Regional Manager, Olufunke Alesinloye, said for members in the informal sector to join, they have to make contributions unlike in the formal sector where the employer make the contribution for the employee.

For smaller businesses to join the scheme, Alesinloye said: “We must visit you to identify that you operate there. It will come on stream very soon because we are working towards it. If you come to us and show us that you are paying tax, we will know that you are a business entity, but if you come to us and say you are from a particular business area without any form of identity, it will not work out, as we need to find you. We don’t want you to come only when an accident occurs.

“For instance, if you join us in January or today and you say you suffered the accident in January, why should we cover your accident in January when you are not registered?”Are you willing to make good from 2011 all the contributions? There is more to it. For members to join, you have to make contributions.”

She noted that the Fund is creating more awareness for the informal sectors to come on board. She continued, “If you are in the informal, and you have tax ID in Lagos State, come to us that will serve as your business ID.”If you are self-employed you can register, as long as you can show us prove that you run a business. You must have some tax with us. There must be some kind of identification; it is not peculiar to employee compensation.”She mentioned some achievements the Fund has made within the period, which have supported the ease of doing business, and adhere to Nigeria’s labour laws.

She said: “We have made improvement in the EC4, and uploading of compliance certificates. We have also gone a step further, if we issue you compliance certificate, we upload within 24-hours.”One of the things we have done to make business easier is by making sure employees operate the account wherever they are domiciled, payment can be made in any location and not necessarily where you opened your account. You pay in any office where we are domiciled and issue you a receipt. We will reconcile the account with the branch where you created the account.”

In his remarks, the President of LCCI, Babatunde Ruwase, who acknowledged the NSITF’s efforts in enhancing employee productivity by ensuring the welfare of employees are catered for, noted that a company’s success is not only measured by the profit and margin it declares, but also by the state of its workers’ wellbeing.

Speaking on this year’s trade fair theme, “Connecting Businesses, Creating Value,” Ruwase noted that this underscores the importance of interaction and strategic partnerships among actors in the economy for the purpose of making the economic environment conducive.Noting that welfare facilities and services for employees are increasingly becoming important in corporate strategy, he added that there is a positive correlation between employees’ welfare and labour productivity.