A group of domestic workers on Monday called for job security and improved working conditions to enable them to live decent lives and contribute to national development.

Our correspondent reports that the domestic workers, numbering about 20, made the call in Lagos at a one-day workshop organised by the Federation of Informal Workers’ Organisation of Nigeria (FIWON).

The theme of the workshop was “Building a Union to Fight for Domestic Workers’ Rights and Respect at Work: Challenges and Opportunities’’.

Some of the domestic workers told newsmen that they worked an average of 12 hours a day with very low monthly wage.

“I work at the laundry section of a private hospital in Surulere, Lagos. I resume at 7 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. There is no job security because you can be sacked anytime over a flimsy excuse,’’ said the worker who pleaded anonymity.

He also cited the problem of power relations with employers in which a worker who was employed by a chief executive could be sacked by his son over flimsy excuse.

Another domestic worker, who works as a driver, said he worked from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. everyday.

He lamented the absence of a standard agreement for domestic workers in Nigeria, adding that the existing laws were not helping them to enforce their rights as workers.

Other workplace issues discussed at the workshop included cut in wages, heavy and increasing workloads coupled with long hours at work and no holiday.

“Each day, I return home from work, I hardly eat dinner before sleeping off as a result of fatigue from the day’s job.

“We do not have standard agreement, no form of welfare package such as medical care or bonus, we are sacked without any entitlement no matter the years we have spent,’’ said the waiter.

Speaking at the workshop, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, FIWON General Secretary, said that all workers had the right to favourable working condition in accordance with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention.

According to the FIWON scribe, domestic workers have the right to join trade unions and be trained in vocational skills.

Komolafe said that domestic workers were being organised to provide them support during dispute with their employers, legal aid, employment exchanges and other social activities.

He said that domestic workers were entitled to decent living condition, freedom of movement, freedom from harassment, physical and psychological abuse, sexual exploitation, recognition and valuing of domestic work and the skills involved.

He advised domestic workers to see themselves as workers and not servants because they work to cater for the needs of others.

Ms Bunmi Ogunbanjo, FIWON assistant secretary, said the association needed the cooperation of domestic workers, especially the under-aged, in order to help them.

She urged people who are aware of the plight of under-aged domestic workers to inform the association for assistance.

She appealed to the government to work with FIWON to ensure a better living condition for domestic workers in the country.