NSITF Identifies Compliance Challenges in Oil and Gas Employees’ Compensation Enforcement

By Chinedu Echianu

The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has identified non-compliance, casualisation of labour, and poor safety culture as major obstacles to effective enforcement of the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS) within Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

Speaking on behalf of the NSITF Managing Director and Chief Executive, Barrister Oluwaseun Faleye, the Fund’s General Manager for the Abuja Region, Mrs. Bridget Ashang, highlighted these concerns while delivering a paper titled “Employees’ Compensation Enforcement: Issues and Challenges in the Oil and Gas Industry” at the annual conference of the Labour Correspondents Association of Nigeria (LACAN) held in Abuja.

Mrs. Ashang emphasized that enforcing the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA) of 2010 remains critical to ensuring decent work, social justice, and national productivity. She described the oil and gas industry as one of the most hazardous sectors, where protecting workers through a strong compensation mechanism is not only a legal obligation but a moral duty.

“Every unsafe rig, every neglected platform, and every unremitted contribution to the Employees’ Compensation Scheme threatens not just a worker’s life but the integrity of our entire labour ecosystem,” she said.

Challenges to Enforcement

According to the NSITF, compliance within the oil and gas industry has been hindered by several structural and operational issues.

Among these are:

• Difficult Terrain: Offshore and remote locations make inspections and service delivery challenging.

• Non-Compliance and Evasion: Some operators, especially in the upstream and servicing sub-sectors, evade remittances by exploiting joint venture or offshore contracting structures.

• Outsourcing and Casualisation: Fragmented employment relationships often obscure employer responsibility, leaving injured workers unprotected.

• Weak Sanctions and Limited Awareness: Penalties for default are insufficient to deter non-compliance, while awareness about ECS obligations remains low.

• Poor Safety Culture: Inadequate adherence to safety protocols and insufficient worker training continue to expose employees to risks.

Reforms and Interventions

Mrs. Ashang noted that the NSITF has intensified enforcement and compliance measures through several reforms. These include digitalization of the ECS registration process, inter-agency collaboration with regulators such as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and aggressive stakeholder engagement with employers and labour unions.

She also revealed that the Fund has established a service delivery centre in Bonny Island to improve accessibility for employers and workers in the region’s oil and gas facilities.

Other reforms include simplifying the claims process for injured workers, enhancing inspections, and promoting workplace safety through regular health, safety, and environment (HSE) activities.

“These steps have begun to yield results, with increased compliance in some subsectors and growing awareness among stakeholders,” she said.

The Way Forward

The NSITF called for stronger legal provisions to ensure compliance, including stiffer penalties for defaulters, integration of ECS clearance into oil and gas contract approvals, and creation of a unified labour data system linking NSITF with other regulatory bodies.

Mrs. Ashang also stressed the need to empower labour inspectors with adequate resources and training, and to publicly recognize compliant organizations while naming defaulters to promote accountability.

“You cannot clap with one hand,” she said. “Government, labour unions, the media, and industry players must collaborate, because enforcement is not merely about penalties — it is about saving lives and upholding justice in the world of work.”

Commitment to Worker Protection

Reaffirming the Fund’s commitment to workers’ welfare, she said the NSITF remains determined to ensure that every Nigerian worker who contributes to national productivity is protected through effective compensation and rehabilitation mechanisms.

“When we protect workers, we protect the soul of our nation, because the strength of Nigeria lies not in her oil or gas, but in her people,” she quoted the NSITF Managing Director as saying.

Mrs. Ashang commended the Labour Correspondents Association of Nigeria for its consistent advocacy in promoting workers’ welfare and social justice, describing the media as “the conscience of the masses” and a vital partner in promoting the Employees’ Compensation Scheme.