Beyond Legislations: Ethical Issues in Domestic Work in Nigeria

Abstract

Recent studies show that domestic work, which cut across age and gender, can have adverse and exploitative consequences for workers, particularly in an unregulated environment. Due to these concerns, international organizations have enacted legislation for a regulated legal environment for domestic work for member nations to domesticate. Nigeria, as a member nation and signatory to the conventions and recommendations, has failed to enact legislation that will regulate the domestic work contractual terms. This article reviews the experiences of domestic workers in Nigeria concerning the abuses and exploitations they suffer in the hands of their employers. The ethical implications of the employers' attitude towards domestic workers are considered. Drawing on the qualitative methodological approach, primary data were collected from 26 interviews with domestic workers in Lagos, Nigeria. Also, secondary data from newspaper and magazine reports were analyzed. Germane ethical issues such as long hours of work, workload, lack of voice, abuses and ill-treatment, health and safety, maternity protection, are explored from the reported experiences of the workers and policy recommendations are made on the urgent need for the state to enact stringent legislation to stop unethical practices in the domestic work industry.

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“…However, the sparse available data show that Nigerian domestic workers are vulnerable to human right abuses in respect of their working conditions. Ogbechie and Oyetunde (2019) in their study found that most domestic workers, particularly live-in domestic workers, are without pay. These workers perform domestic service in exchange for sponsored education, vocational training, free accommodation, meal or extension of economic support to the family member of the domestic workers.…”

“…However, the requirement that the obligation to pay the national minimum wage applies to only establishments with not less than 25 employees in terms of section 2(a) appears to exclude employers in the domestic work sector. This is because it is rare to find a household that employs up to 25 domestic workers (Ogbechie and Oyetunde 2019). This leaves the remuneration of domestic workers to the discretion of employers.…”

“…These workers perform domestic service in exchange for sponsored education, vocational training, free accommodation, meal or extension of economic support to the family member of the domestic workers. While for workers who are paid, their remuneration is low and irregular (Ogbechie and Oyetunde 2019;Akinrimisi 2002). Furthermore, domestic workers work extremely long and unstructured hours with high workloads.…”

“…According to Tade and Aderinto (2012), many employers in the domestic work sector of Oyo state, Nigeria, argued they could use domestic workers as they wished because they are paid to render a service. In terms of the right to social protection, employers of domestic workers do not contribute to social insurance measures on behalf of their workers (Ogbechie and Oyetunde 2019;Olayiwola 2019). These conditions are reinforced by the lack of individual and collective voice of domestic workers in Nigeria.…”