Federation of Informal Workers’ Organisation of Nigeria (FIWON) and the Challenges of Organising Domestic Workers in Nigeria

Abstract

Domestic workers are located in the informal sector of the economy of any nation. Many unions and other workers‟ organisations indubitably are mugged with challenges in organising the informal workforce, irrespective of sector or country. The challenges of organising domestic workers are premised on the assumption that domestic workers are unorganisable because of the inherent nature of domestic work. This study examines the Federation of Informal Workers Organisation of Nigeria (FIWON) and the challenges of organising domestic workers in Nigeria. This study adopted qualitative research method; data were gathered through interviews, reports, documentary evidence and focus group discussions. The study employed the narrative or discourse analyses for the data interpretations. The findings of the study indicate that FIWON has made a substantial effort towards organising of the domestic workers in Nigeria hence the study concludes that FIWON‟s efforts have been overwhelmed with so many barriers which include absence of government support, work environment, absence of labour contract and domestic workers‟ poor financial capacity to finance FIWON‟s organising efforts due to low level of income generated by FIWON from its affiliating members. The study thus recommends among others that the labour legislative framework in Nigeria should be expanded to accommodate informal workers not only in terms of their labour rights but also for the benefit of the entire society.