The General Manager, Administration, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Segun Basorun has described the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as one agency that has impacted positively on the world.
Commending the organisation for the institutionalisation of social security initiatives that have impacted positively on the working class, the NSITF boss, who made the declaration on the sideline of the just-concluded International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, explained that conventions and standards of the ILO had helped in ensuring social cohesion in the world of work globally.
According to him, “in the last 100 years, since 1919 when it was created, ILO has impacted positively on the world. Concerning social security, it has nine pillars that are very important in the life of human beings. These pillars are all resolutions, standards that nations have ratified.
“I know that the safety that the fund provides for workers in Nigeria would not have been possible without the ILO establishing that standard which was ratified by the Nigerian government. The fact that the ILO has created these pillars gives a kind of direction for nations to follow as far as social security is concerned.
Countries are at different stages of development. There are countries that provide for loss of employment as a social security item. There are countries that provide for old age and the mandates of the NSITF reflect all these pillars.
While NSITF is mandated statutorily to enforce safety at work, Basorun added that the fund is executing the task in partnership with the national umbrella body of employers in the country – Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA).
“We have a partnership with NECA on promoting safe work environment by preventing occupational accidents. When you prevent accident people will go back home the way they left. The partnership with NECA encourages employers to further realise that they have a responsibility to ensure that work is done safely in their organisations.
“Apart from NECA, we have safety officers all over Nigeria who also pay advocacy visits to organisations to talk about health and safety and the importance of doing work in a manner that is safe. These safety officers do root course analysis of why accidents happen, where they happen and recommend steps aimed at preventing reoccurrence because ultimately, all accidents are caused,”
He added that NSITF is equally partnering with trade unions and trade centres in the country to entrench the importance of safe work environment and collaborating with them to encourage employers of their members to join the Employees Compensation Scheme (ECS).
“Workers would put in their best when they know they would be taken care of in case of occupational injuries. So, that is why we say the ECS is a win-win scheme that finds no fault,” the NSITF boss said.
