As National Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) opens its 12th Regional Office in Owerri, employers in the South East have been urged to insure their employees to qualify them to benefit from Employees Compensation Scheme. This urge was made by the Secretary and Spokesperson of NSITF, Ijeoma Okoronkwo, during the Commissioning Ceremony of the Owerri Regional Office by Minister of Labour, Employment and Productivity, Senator Chris Ngige, on Friday, in Owerri. While stating that it only involves 1% of the workers emolument to Insure their workers, Okoronkwo hinted that the benefit of the Insurance are numerous because it is a scheme of government, saying the Employees Compensation Act was signed into law in 2010, an act of government which she observed NSITF is obliged to provide.
“However, it is done on insuring your worker. Every employer of Labour, in the Public, Private and informal sectors are encouraged to contribute 1% of their workers’ emolument to place the burden for their injured workers on NSITF”, assuring that with these contributions, “all covered worker continues to receive Cover from the Employees Compensation Scheme (ECS) enforced by NSITF. This new Regional Office is going to help us deeply penetrate into the region and then get Social Security Cover towards many people as possible”.
She informed that the beneficiaries of Employees Compensation Scheme are the workers. “So, every worker that is covered under our scheme is covered in case of Accident either on his way to work or going from work or at place of work. The benefits are so numerous. When a worker is involved in an accident we will first of all pay the hospital bills, ensure that he gets the best treatment. So, we are taking that burden away from both the worker and the employer. If there is a permanent damage to the person, we provide rehabilitation to the worker who is insured and in the case of death; his children are covered up to the years of 21”.
