Workers’ rights organizations, Cee Hope Nigeria and Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, have urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government to include domestic workers in the new minimum wage proposal.
This was revealed during a one-day seminar on the rights of Nigeria’s domestic workers in Abuja on Thursday.
Betty Abah, founder of CeeHope Nigeria, expressed concern in an interview with DAILY POST over the severe hardship faced by domestic workers in Nigeria, who are often paid very low wages.
She emphasized that domestic workers should receive equal rights comparable to those of mainstream workers in Nigeria.
Abah stated that domestic workers deserve a living wage that can meet their needs.
“This is about women’s rights and protecting vulnerable communities.
“Our campaign aims to highlight the harsh working conditions of domestic workers in Nigeria. As it stands, these conditions are exploitative.
“We are working towards unionizing domestic workers so they can advocate for their rights.
“In Nigeria, many domestic workers provide services around the clock, which shouldn’t be the case.
“Many have died, missed out on education, and cannot support themselves.
“Domestic workers should receive a fair minimum wage and be granted the same rights as mainstream workers in Nigeria,” she said.
Earlier, Dr. Claus-Dieter König, Regional Director of Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung West Africa, emphasized that domestic workers have the right to unionize, like all other workers worldwide.
“This seminar is crucial. A significant number of people in Nigeria, particularly women, are domestic workers. They need to have the same rights as other workers globally,” he stated.
This development follows ongoing efforts by Nigerian workers, under the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, to push for a new minimum wage.
Earlier in the week, organized labor shut down the economy in protest of the government’s delay in implementing a new minimum wage and reversing the electricity tariff hike.
The strike was temporarily suspended on Tuesday after the government indicated it would consider a minimum wage higher than N60,000.
On Thursday, it was reported that the government and organized labor had resumed negotiations on the minimum wage.
Previously, the federal government proposed a N60,000 minimum wage, while organized labor proposed N494,000.