Senate Wants Protection For Domestic Workers

The Senate is fast-tracking the process of proper documentation and protection of human rights of domestic workers and their employers in the country.

Lawmakers argued that proper documentation and protection of domestic workers will serve several purposes, including keeping full records of the identities of domestic workers, respecting their fundamental human rights and provisions for the safety of the employers.

Leading the debate, the sponsor of the bill, Sen. Hussaini Babangida-Uba, representing Jigawa North-West, noted that most domestic workers in the country were either unregistered and not engaged in compliance with labour laws.

He further argued that bill would safeguard the interest of both the domestic worker and their employers by addressing recurring abuses and tragedies, such as home helps killing their employers and disappearing with their valuables.

In his contribution, Sen. Sani Musa observed that in the United Kingdom for example, the law did not permit the recruitment of a domestic worker without following a laid-down procedure.

Others like Sen. Adams Oshiomhole, noted that domestic workers suffered abuses like rape, harassment and murder and most of such cases went unreported.

The Senate also passed through second reading 59-year-old ICAN Act to amend salient provisions including a paltry 100 naira fine for any offence and a conviction on indictment which attracts only a fine of 1,000 naira.

The bill sponsored by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, Ogun West, has a total of 26 amendments and insertions.

In his remarks after debate on the general principles of the bill, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio noted that an amendment to the Bill has become very imperative, as it will mop up the over 50,000 applicants waiting to be members of ICAN.