FG Mulls Review of Employers’ Contribution to Employees’ Compensation Scheme

Dike Onwuamaeze

The federal government has hinted that an upward review of employers’ contribution to the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS) might be on the way.

The Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA 2010) mandates all employers of labour in Nigeria to ensure that all employees are covered under the ECS that makes provision for compensation of any death, injury, occupational disease or disability arising out of or in the course of employment.

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, dropped this hint yesterday in Lagos in her goodwill message during the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) and Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) “Safe Workplace Intervention Project” (SWIP) and “2025 Interactive Enlightenment Forum and Awards Ceremony.”

Onyejeocha said: “A safe workplace is not optional, it is legal. I believe that moving forward, we should also be reviewing the legal system and see how it complies with the quantum of what happens when lives are lost.

“I am an advocate that compensation should be reviewed because many people who died were just getting peanuts. The narratives have changed.

“So, the safe workplace intervention is, therefore, both timely and strategic.

“By combining awareness, compliance, support, and recognition of excellence, the SWIP helps to shift the mindset of employers from treating safety as an expense to recognising it as an investment in people, productivity and long-term business sustainability.”

The minister of state said the ECA is a strong statement that Nigerian workers mattered.

She said: “The ECA 2010 remains one of the most important pillars of our labour administration system. It guarantees fair compensation for workers who suffer injury, disease, disability, or death sometimes in the course of employment.

“Beyond compensation, however, the Act sends a clear signal that prevention is better than cure.”

Onyejeocha said that labor laws move beyond paper and begin to deliver real protection on the factory floor when government, employers and workers chose to work together.

“As Honorable Minister of State for Labor and Employment, I wish to reaffirm that this administration will not compromise on occupational safety and health.

“We are strengthening enforcement of the Act. We are also intensifying workplace inspections nationwide. We cannot speak of job creation while workers are exposed to preventable danger.

“No job is worth a human life. Our objective is simple but non-negotiable that every Nigerian worker must leave home for work and return safely at the end of the day.

“I, therefore urge employers to fully comply with the provisions of the ECA through prompt registration, remittance of contributions and continuous investment in safety systems.

“I also encourage workers to remain safety conscious and to exercise their rights responsibly under the law.

“In closing, let us reaffirm our collective responsibility to build Nigerian safe workplaces that should remain safe, healthy and productive,” she said.

In his welcome address, the President of NECA, Dr. Ifeanyi Okoye, said that beyond the SWIP is designed as learning and improvement platform that enables employers to understand their obligations under the law, appreciate the benefits of compliance and adapt proactive occupational safety and health practices that protect both workers and enterprises.

“Today’s interactive sessions and award ceremony are not just ceremonial but are deliberate interventions to recognise organisations that have demonstrated exemplary commitment to workplace safety while also providing a forum for open dialogue on practical challenges employers face in implementing the ECA 2010,” he said.

The Managing Director of NSITF, Mr. Oluwaseun Faleye, said that yesterday’s event should have been held in 2025 but was crowded out by other urgent matters.

Faleye said the ceremony was not “merely an information gathering session but a demonstration of shared commitment that reflect our collective resolve to ensure that economic growth does not come at the expense of workers safety and that productivity is anchored on an environment that protects life, dignity and livelihood.”

The Director General of NECA, Mr. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, said that compliance to the ECA is no longer an option for employers but a fundamental part of doing business.