A bill seeking to create an agency to document and protect domestic workers and their employers scaled second reading in the Senate. This followed the presentation of the bill sponsored by Senator Babangida Hussaini (representing Jigawa North-West) on Wednesday’s plenary, where he stated most domestic workers were unregistered, not engaged in accordance with labor laws and do not have unions to speak for them, therefore making them vulnerable and helpless.
Hussaini stated that there has been an increase in the rate of incidents of assault and abuse of domestic workers by their employers, varying from slave labour, sexual abuse, amongst others.
He said, “The concomitant effect of this is that many families, from the low, middle, to the high-income classes families have come to the inevitable reality of the necessity of employing and relying on domestic workers to attend to their needs at home.
“It is saddening to note that a very vulnerable group of this category of domestic workers have been consistently played upon by their employers or hosts.”
He also stated that their employers were also at risk, citing example of domestic workers killing their employer and running away with their valuables.
Hussaini urged his colleagues to support the second reading of the bill.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Labor and Productivity for their input and provide feedback to the plenary within four weeks.
