Managing Director/Chief Executive of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, (NSITF), Barrister Olúwaṣeun Faleye has said workplace safety and social protection are fundamental pillars of social justice.
Barrister Faleye made this assertion in his lead paper at the Breakout Session Vl at the Annual NBA Conference holding in Enugu, Tuesday. In his presentation titled: Enhancing Workplace Safety and Social Protection: The Role of the Employees’ Compensation Act 2010, the NSITF’s Managing Director said:
“Workplace safety and social protection are not optional luxuries, they are fundamental pillars of social justice, human dignity and economic sustainability.”
Highlighting the significance of workplace safety and social protection, Barrister Faleye said, “They ensure dignity, peace of mind, and assurance that one’s labour will not become a source of tragedy for one’s family.”
He continues that “They reduce the burden on healthcare system, mitigate poverty and enhance national competitiveness.”
He went on to tie workplace safety and social protection to human rights saying they are “as much about human rights as they are about economic development.” He posited that, “a nation that fails to protect its workers fails to protect its future.”
In the presentation, Barrister Faleye explained that enactment of the Employees’ Compensation Act 2010 was a watershed in social protection in Nigeria. Juxtaposing the ECA with its predecessor, Workmen’s Compensation Act, he said ECA was more expansive and inclusive in its scope and coverage. Other pluses of the Act according to Barrister Olúwaṣeun Faleye were conformity with global best practices, elimination of winded legal battles and creation of a pool thereby shifting burdens, and addressing poverty traps induced by disabilities or deaths.
Earlier in the paper, Barrister Faleye lauded NBA for being the “conscience of the nation, a defender of rights, a champion of Justice, and a custodian of the democratic ideals that give meaning to our collective existence” over the decades.”
In the same vein, the NSITF’s General Manager Compliance, Alhaji Abdul-Lateef Musa presented a paper at the session. Titled, Institutional Barriers to Effective Enforcement: the Role of Compliance Employees’ Rights and Strategies for Bridging Gaps between Policies and Workplace Practice, interrogated compliance with the ECA 2010 as backbone of the Employees’ Compensation Scheme and a catalyst for justice.
