Senate and NCWS Advocate for Inclusion of Domestic Workers in Proposed N70,000 Minimum Wage

The Nigerian Senate and the National Council of Women Society (NCWS) have called for the inclusion of domestic workers in the proposed N70,000 minimum wage.

This advocacy was made during a public hearing at the National Assembly on a bill aimed at the domestication and registration of domestic workers and employers in Nigeria.

The public hearing on the bill, sponsored by Senator Babangida Hussaini representing Jigawa North West, was organized by the Senate Committee on Employment, Labour, and Productivity, chaired by Senator Diket Plang.

Senator Osita Izunaso, representing Imo West, emphasized the importance of including domestic workers in the National Minimum Wage Scheme during his remarks.

“As a member of this committee, I feel strongly that part of the provisions to be included in this bill is to include the domestic workers, be it housemaids or servants, in the proposed N70,000 National Minimum Wage law,” he said.

“As N70,000 is being planned to be the lowest wage for the lowest public workers, so should be the case for least domestic workers. We are going to put it in the bill for implementation by all employers.”

Senator Izunaso also suggested that the bill’s focus should shift from domestication and protection to registration and protection of domestic workers and their employers.

Echoing this call, Acting National President of NCWS, Mrs. Geraldeen Etuk, also advocated for the inclusion of domestic servants in the proposed National Minimum Wage law.

In an interview on the sidelines of the event, Senator Babangida Hussaini expressed his pleasure at the general support the bill received from various stakeholders but noted concerns about the practical implementation of including domestic workers in the national minimum wage.

“There is no point in making a law that cannot be implemented, but I’m happy that the generality of stakeholders at the public hearing supported the bill and by extension, the proposed law,” he said.

Earlier, Committee Chairman Senator Diket Plang mentioned that an agency would be established to implement the proposed law, with initial operations driven by the Ministry of Labour and Productivity.