Domestic workers, interns, and apprentices will now have enforceable rights that protect them from exploitation.”
By Ife Osemedua
365Daily – The Senate has passed the Informal Sector Employment Regulation Bill, 2025, giving workers legal protection against abuse and exploitation.
When given legal force, millions of domestic workers, apprentices, and other informal employees will enjoy better working conditions because of the bill’s provisions.
“This legislation is about giving dignity and security to those who have largely operated outside the formal labour system,” said Senator Diket Plang, chairman of the Senate Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity.
The Senate had earlier comsidered and adopted the recommendation of the committee om the bill in plenary on Wednesday.
Plang explained that “domestic workers, interns, and apprentices will now have enforceable rights that protect them from exploitation.”
Similarly, Senator Tahir Monguno described the bill as long overdue. “This law regulates employment conditions in a sector that has been left unmonitored for too long. Workers will finally have clarity on their roles, fair pay, and protection from abuse,” he said.
Labour advocates hailed the Senate’s action as a historic step. “For decades, informal workers have been invisible in the labour system, vulnerable and unprotected. This law gives them a chance to work with dignity and security,” one advocate said.
The law will require clear contracts, fair wages, regulated recruitment processes, and legal recourse for workplace abuses — protections that were previously out of reach for millions of Nigerians.
The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for concurrence before being sent to the President for assent, setting the stage for a major transformation in Nigeria’s informal labour sector.