NECA, NSITF forge alliance to deepen workplace safety compliance

In a renewed push to stem the tide of preventable workplace injuries and deaths in Nigeria, the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) and the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) have strengthened their collaboration to entrench a culture of occupational safety and health across the country, while calling on the media to play a more strategic role in driving awareness and compliance.

The two organisations warned that negligence, weak safety culture and poor awareness continue to expose Nigerian workers to avoidable risks, stressing that workplace safety must now be treated as a core human rights issue rather than a regulatory formality. These concerns were raised last Friday in Abuja during a press conference ahead of the NSITF–NECA Safe Workplace Intervention Project (SWIP) 2025 interactive enlightenment fora and awards ceremonies scheduled for January.

Speaking at the event, the Director-General of NECA, Mr Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, described workplace safety as a life-and-death matter that is still treated with dangerous nonchalance by both employers and employees, despite its far-reaching consequences.

Oyerinde noted that occupational safety and health has recently been elevated by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to a core labour convention, making it binding on all member states irrespective of ratification status. “Health and safety is no longer optional. It is now a human rights issue. Labour is not a commodity; there are human beings behind every job,” he said.

According to him, the disposition of the private sector towards workplace safety is gradually changing, a shift he attributed to sustained engagement and collaboration with NSITF through initiatives such as SWIP. “The disposition of the private sector towards health and safety is changing. Our commitment, alongside NSITF, led to the commencement of the Safe Workplace Intervention Project many years ago,” Oyerinde stated.

He warned that workplace accidents are often irreversible, even when victims survive, noting that emerging work realities such as remote work, artificial intelligence and home-based tasks now require a broader understanding of what constitutes a workplace. “We often carry the same mindset from home to the office. Carelessness in the workplace can have lasting consequences,” he said.

“From employers who see safety investment as a cost to employees who ask, ‘Why must I wear PPE?’, this is a serious issue. When an accident happens, recovery may be partial, but the scars remain. Safety is not just compliance; it is a life issue.”

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Oyerinde identified knowledge gaps, low awareness and poor basic infrastructure as the biggest obstacles to compliance, explaining that many hazards are ignored simply because they appear harmless.

“Even something as simple as a chair can be hazardous over time. Awareness is key,” he said.

While noting that NECA members are generally held to higher safety standards, he lamented the persistence of recklessness among companies that deliberately evade regulation, warning that silence by workers in unsafe environments amounts to complicity. “Safety is a personal responsibility. Unsafe practices must be named and addressed,” he said.

He explained that the SWIP audit process is evidence-based, assessing organisational policies, behaviour, leadership commitment, emergency preparedness and actual implementation. According to him, overall compliance levels remain average for a developing country.

“Some organisations have policies without implementation; others have plans but no emergency response. This year, 200 companies across the six zones were audited. Organisations performing exceptionally will be rewarded, including with safety-related incentives such as ambulances,” he added.

Providing further insight into the intervention, Oyerinde disclosed that top-performing organisations would receive brand-new ambulances, Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), fire extinguishers and other modern health, safety and environment tools, while others would benefit from capacity building and structured feedback. “In Lagos, two organisations will receive ambulances; the same applies in Abuja for the northern region, while Enugu will cater for the South-East and South-South. Beyond ambulances, PPEs and modern HSE equipment will be distributed to encourage broader compliance,” he said.

He stressed that the elevation of occupational safety and health to a core ILO convention has fundamentally reshaped the private sector’s perception of safety obligations. “Two years ago, health and safety became a core ILO convention. Whether you ratify it or not, once you are an ILO member, you are bound. This has moved OSH from being a policy issue to a human rights issue,” Oyerinde said.

With Lagos, Enugu and Abuja set to host the SWIP enlightenment fora and awards ceremonies, he expressed confidence that the initiative would not only reward excellence but also reset the national conversation on workplace safety.

The NECA boss, however, warned employers who still treat safety investments as unnecessary costs, insisting that negligence in the workplace is no longer defensible.

“Labour is not a commodity. There are humans behind the masquerade. When an accident happens, you don’t fully recover from it. That loss is permanent. If ambulances, PPEs and recognition do not motivate you, then when penalties come, there will be no place to run,” he warned.

He further stressed that unsafe employers who fail to protect workers should be exposed, adding: “If employers fail to provide safety infrastructure and workers keep quiet, both parties become co-conspirators. We must name and shame irresponsible employers.”

Also speaking, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NSITF, Mr Oluwaseun Faleye, described SWIP as a critical tool for driving private-sector compliance with workplace safety and employee compensation laws, stressing that enforcement alone cannot deliver sustainable results.

“The Employees’ Compensation Act is a very robust law, but the law alone is not enough without stakeholder engagement. Collaboration with NECA has been very effective,” Faleye said.

He explained that compliance thrives better through engagement, awareness and recognition rather than punishment.

“We believe compliance should not be driven by enforcement alone. Through engagement, awareness and recognition, employers begin to understand that safety is not a cost but an investment,” he said.

Faleye noted that the 2025 SWIP activities, delayed into early 2026 due to operational exigencies, would officially kick off in Lagos on January 20, followed by Enugu, with a grand finale in Abuja on January 27.

He described the timing as “a perfect way to kick-start the year with a culture of safety.” He added that recognition and awards remain powerful incentives for deepening compliance, while sustained media engagement is critical to expanding awareness of the Employees’ Compensation Scheme.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr Salihu Usman, commended NECA and NSITF for sustaining SWIP, describing it as a model of effective collaboration between government and the private sector.

Represented by the Director of Occupational Safety and Health at the ministry, Mrs Florence Owie, Usman confirmed that the ministry’s OSH Department participated actively as the technical audit partner to ensure alignment with national standards and global best practices.

“Occupational health and safety is everyone’s responsibility. The ministry cannot do it alone. This initiative shows what effective collaboration between government, employers and social security institutions can achieve,” he said.

He noted that the audits covered no fewer than 200 workplaces across all six geopolitical zones, praising the transparency, professionalism and high level of cooperation recorded during the exercise.

“The emphasis on transparency, digitalised audit reporting, capacity building and structured feedback aligns with our vision for a modern and credible occupational safety and health system,” Usman said, adding that the initiative directly supports the Employees’ Compensation Act 2010 and reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to worker welfare, productivity, decent work and sustainable development.

The Safe Workplace Intervention Project is a collaborative occupational health and safety initiative designed to enhance workplace safety across Nigeria through structured audits, engagement and recognition.