Urges Senate to focus on passing Labour Law Bill
Members of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) and about 25 employers’ federations have rejected the proposed amendment to the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Act, stating that the proposed changes threaten to fundamentally weaken the NSITF governance structure, erode accountability and transparency, as well as expose the fund to undue political interference.

Even though it has already passed a second reading in the Senate, the operators vowed to employ all legitimate and legal means, including recourse to international labour standards and the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) supervisory mechanisms, to protect the NSITF from any actions that threaten its effectiveness, sustainability, and compliance with global best practices.

In a letter written to the Senate President and signed by the five Directors-General, comprising the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), the Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), the Nigeria Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI) and other 25 Employers Federations, they re-iterated that they would not accept any amendment that weakens the Fund’s governance framework or diminishes the participation of organised labour and employers in its management as the primary contributors to the Fund.

The proposed amendment is championed by the Senate Committee on Labour and Employment, chaired by Senator Diket Plang.

The OPSN raised the alarm that the proposed amendment sought to reduce the representation and influence of employers and workers, who are the main contributors and beneficiaries of the fund, while increasing government control through political appointments.

They argued that the approach was not only contrary to the spirit and letter of the ILO Conventions but also undermines the principles of good governance, transparency, and accountability that are essential for the effective management of social security funds.

According to OPSN, the ILO’s Recommendation 202 on Social Protection Floors further underscores the need for participatory, transparent, and accountable governance in social protection systems, warning against the dangers of politicisation and lack of stakeholder involvement.”

Noting that the NSITF was founded on a tripartite structure, representing government, employers, and labour, in strict alignment with ILO Convention 102 on Social Security (Minimum Standards), Convention 144 on Tripartite Consultation, and Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, it stated that the Conventions, which Nigeria has ratified, require that social security institutions be managed with the full and effective participation of social partners, ensuring that the interests of both contributors and beneficiaries are protected from political or unilateral government control.

The OPSN, therefore, called on President Bola Tinubu and the President of the Senate, Godswill
Akpabio, to intervene and “stop the charade by the Senate Committee on Labour and Employment, while directing them to focus on completing and passing the Nigeria Labour Law, a far more pressing and productive legislative priority.