The National Women Commission of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has called on the Federal Government and relevant agencies to enforce the punishment spelt out for abuse of domestic workers.

The President of the commission, Mrs Ladi Iliya, made the call at a plenary session of the Third NLC National Women Conference in Abuja.

She decried the inhuman treatment that most domestic workers in Nigeria were subjected to.

Iliya advocated the need to establish a Domestic Workers Union that would fight for the rights of domestic workers who were often subjected to different forms of inhuman treatment.

While admitting the difficulties involved in forming such a union in Nigeria, Iliya expressed optimism that the dream would be actualised with the assistance of relevant sectors.

She said that the commission was at the forefront in the struggle to re-position domestic workers and to ensure that their rights were adequately protected.

“I know it is difficult to get domestic workers to form a union but if we are there, we will assist to make sure that they have a place.

“A house help was beaten with tears and blood on her back before she was rushed to the hospital.

“I also saw a boy, who was picked by one of his uncles after he lost his father, carrying a bucket of water that was three times bigger than him.

“If there is a domestic workers union in place, issues like these, would be adequately taken care of,’’ she said.

She called on relevant agencies to ensure that the sanctions spelt out in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention, which Nigeria was signatory to, were adequately implemented.

Gbenga Komolafe, General Secretary of the Informal Sector Operators in Nigeria, said that most domestic workers were subjected to prostitution, human trafficking and other human rights abuses.

He pointed out that the sector was collaborating with domestic workers to form a union that would protect their interest.

According to Komolafe, domestic workers are enthusiastic to have an umbrella body that will address their challenges.

He admitted that forming such a union was a difficult task, given the nature of jobs domestic workers do.

“The problem we are having now is that we are too slow because it is very difficult to organise domestic workers.

“We go out to meet them only on Sundays because that is when most of them have time to themselves. Most of them work seven days a week, others work round the clock.

“We have only three hours in a week to talk to them and that has made the organisation of these people very slow,” he explained.

He noted that in spite of the difficulties involved, the need for such a union was long overdue as some African countries like South Africa already had unions protecting their domestic workers.

Komolafe disclosed that the unions negotiated minimum standards for domestic workers in their countries and also ensured that employers, guilty of abuse, were punished under the law.

“Many countries have advanced with regard to this. In South Africa we have domestic workers’ unions and they have negotiated some minimum standards for domestic workers.

“They have minimum hours of work, they have issues around pay, abuses and they ensure that those who are guilty of such abuses are punished under the law.

“In Nigeria we still have a long way to go but a start must be made and that decision has been made by domestic workers themselves,’’ he said.

He called on the domestic workers in the country to reach out to their colleagues in order to hasten the process.