FG Moves to Enforce Workplace Safety,Compliance , Charges NSITF, NECA to Sanction Firms Violating ECA 2010

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in EnuguThe federal government has said that organisations both in the public and private sectors that violate the provisions of the Employee Compensation Act(ECA) 2010 in relation to workplace safety would no longer be treated with kid gloves.Government specifically charged the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund(NSITF) and the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) to go after the violators and sanction them accordingly.The federal government’s policy directive was conveyed by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon Nkeiruka Onyejeocha at the Enugu Session of the NSITF/NECA Safe Workplace Intervention Project(SWIP) 2025 Interactive Enlightenment Forum and Awards Ceremony for South-east and South-south zones.She reaffirmed “the commitment of the federal government, and of course, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, in strengthening occupational safety and health through effective and forceful stakeholder engagement, and institutional collaboration.”The minister alluded that Fedel government was losing patience with firms engaged in continuous violations of the Safe Workplace policy initiative, saying, “I want to emphasise that we have not seen much in terms of sanctions.”“I believe there must be sanctions because we’ve seen a deliberate act of citations of our laws,” she said, urging the NSITF to “wield the big stick” against all the violators of the safe workplace law.Onyejeocha noted that while the private sectors drive productivity and growth, they also present “significant occupational risks if not properly managed.”She commended NSITF and NECA for their collaboration in building of a social partnership for the protection of Nigerian workers by combining enlightenment, compliant, support, and recognition of best practises.“This initiative promotes a culture of integration where workplace safety is seen not as a cost, but as an investment in productivity, sustainability, and human capital development, and where every worker has a say,” the minister stated.She described ECA 2010 as the fulcrum Nigeria’s labour protection framework as it guarantees compensation for work-related injuries, diseases, and fatalities.While encouraging employers to prioritise prevention, risk management, and occupational health, Onyejeocha also encouraged employers to take full advantage of SWIP to improve compliance in protecting their workers from harm.  “Programmes such as SWIP help translate this remarkable policy into practical action,” she said, adding that it was gratifying that organisations that have demonstrated commitment to workplace safety and compliance were recognised and given awards.Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, lauded NSITF and NECA for their collaborative efforts in promoting workplace safety and welfare of workers.Mbah, who was represented by the Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Sam Ogbu Nwobodo, said that Enugu was committed to collaboration with the private sector “given our global investment plans”.He stated that Enugu “places high priority” on entrenching workplace safety and welfare of workers, enjoining all stakeholders “to deepen collaboration with NSITF so that together we will enhance productivity and national development.”The Managing Director/CEO of NSITF,  Oluwaseun Faleye, in his address noted that workers play the most prominent role in the economic growth of any nation hence the need for employers to prioritise their welfare.According to him, “the best investment, the most profitable investment that any organisation can do really is to secure the welfare of its workers, to secure the safety of its workers, and to see to the strengthening of all of the mechanisms that would do that.”Faleye stressed the need “to build safer and more productive workplaces,” pointing out that that the collaboration between NSITF and NECA is a shared commitment to. “It reflects our collective resolve to ensure that economic growth does not come at the expense of any worker’s safety, and that productivity is anchored on environments that protect lives, dignity, and livelihood,” he said.The NSITF boss stated that “whatever we do in our workplaces to strengthen safety, to strengthen compliance, is not just done in isolation. It is done for the resilience of the business. It is done for the resilience of the economy.”In his remarks, the Director General of NECA, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, urged firms to imbibe the culture of maintaining health and safety in the workplace beyond the issue of compliance with the law. He said that workplace safety should not be seen as private sector issue since governments at all levels are employers and should be also comply to regulations pertaining to workers welfare and safety in the workplace.Oyerinde said that NECA would find a way through its state desk offices to engage with and to also find a way, through the desk, to engage the state government departments given that the government of the sub-nationals are trying to contribute to the NSITF. The NSITF/NECA 2025 interactive forum (though carried over to 2026), themed Enhancing workplace safety, strengthening compliance, celebrating excellence really celebrated firms in Southeast and South-South that posted commendable level of compliance in workplace safety.Awards were given to organisations that came tops in various categories with GZ Industries, Abia State emerging the overall winner and went home with an ambulance.