Senate Approves Informal Sector Employment Regulation Bill

The Senate approved the Informal Sector Employment (Regulation) Bill, 2025, on Wednesday.

This was sequel to the consideration and adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity at plenary.

Presenting the report, the committee chairman, Diket Plang, noted that the bill was sponsored by Sani Musa (APC-Niger).

He said the bill sought to provide for the documentation, protection, and regulation of domestic workers, apprentices, interns, and other informal sector employees in Nigeria.

Mr Musa said it would be enforced and implemented by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.

“The intent of the bill is informed by the increasing incidences of assaults, abuses, and torture of domestic workers by their employers or hosts.

These abuses range from slave labour, physical abuse, sexual exploitation, and unwarranted exploitation without a commensurate reward system.

“The bill also seeks to implement the Domestic Workers Convention 2011 (No. 189), a treaty that encourages national governments to protect domestic workers from violence and abuse.

“Also to regulate private employment agencies that recruit and employ domestic workers, as well as prevent child labour in domestic work,” said the lawmaker.

He added that the primary objectives of the bill are to formalise the employment of domestic workers, apprentices, interns, and other informal sector employees in Nigeria.

The bill was subsequently adopted and passed for third reading.
(NAN)