Evaluation of the implementation of Employees Compensation Amendment Act 2011 of Nigeria

Abstract

Since the passage into law of the Employees Compensation Act in 2011, countless cases of workplace accidents have occurred in Nigeria. Yet there seems to be no succour for the Nigerian worker as many state governments have either refused to register with or do not have the will power to implement the legislation in their respective states. Some in the private sector continue to call for the review of the funding pattern of compensation for workers. With this scenario, it becomes increasingly difficult to implement the Act in the country and this means that countless of workplace injuries will not be compensated or properly handled as stipulated by the law. This paper examined the implementation of the Compensation Act and like many other acts that have come before it, to determine the implementation level. This paper also set out to find the various challenges that may be militating against the effective implementation of the Act. In the survey, 427 workers from both the private and public sectors were selected The study revealed that over 58% of the respondents are not aware of the existence of employees‘ compensation while 76 say they have no confidence in government ability to manage the Act. This paper therefore recommends that NSITF, the body saddled with the responsibility to manage the funds, should start to implement the Act immediately by updating their records and carry out public enlightenment campaigns to employees and employers in both the private and public services while paying compensation benefits to injured workers.

Keywords: Compensation; Injury; Employee; Employer; Act and Implementation