The Senate on Wednesday passed the Informal Sector Employment (Regulation) Bill, 2025, a landmark legislation aimed at protecting and regulating the activities of domestic workers, apprentices, and other informal sector employees across Nigeria.
The bill seeks to address widespread cases of abuse, exploitation, and unsafe working conditions among millions of Nigerians engaged in informal employment.
The passage followed the adoption of a report presented by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity, Senator Diket Plang, during plenary. He explained that the bill, sponsored by Senator Sani Musa (APC–Niger), mandates the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to supervise the documentation, protection, and regulation of domestic workers and other informal sector employees.
Highlighting the bill’s objectives, Senator Plang said it was prompted by the increasing incidents of assault, torture, and exploitation of domestic workers by their employers. He noted that the legislation would help eliminate “slave labour, physical abuse, sexual exploitation, and unfair treatment without proper compensation.”
He further explained that the proposed law aligns with the International Labour Organisation’s Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), which urges national governments to ensure the protection of domestic workers from violence and abuse. The bill also provides for the regulation of private employment agencies that recruit domestic workers and prohibits the use of child labour in the sector.
The Senate subsequently passed the bill for third reading, marking a significant step toward formalising employment relations in the informal sector and extending labour protections to millions of vulnerable workers across the country.
