Economy
Are You Looking After Your Domestic Worker?
Domestic workers are integral to many of our homes, but are you making sure the person who keeps the wheels of the house turning while you’re at work is being treated fairly? Read on for five ways you can make a difference in her life.
The small details count
If you think about how lovely it is to have small perks at your work, the same holds true for your domestic worker. Tiny details can make a big difference, such as giving her the household’s Wi-Fi password so that she can listen to music on her phone while working, and by creating a dedicated space where she can put her handbag or bag down and safely keep items like toiletries to freshen up with after a long day’s work.
“Many domestic workers live lives that are more challenging than most of us could ever imagine, so think of things you can do to make her life easier,” says Aisha Pandor, CEO of SweepSouth Connect, a new on-demand home services company in Nigeria. “For instance, if you are able, pick her up at the public transport drop-off point closest to your home. It’s an empathetic gesture that saves her time, allowing her to spend more quality time with her family.”
Create a relationship
How much do you know about the individual who – very often – is at the heart of your household? A social and economic power imbalance already exists between you and your domestic worker, so make a real effort to bridge it. Ask her about her life, her family and what keeps her awake and worrying at night. A great way to build a positive relationship is by recognising areas she excels in and giving positive feedback on work done well.
Upskill your domestic worker if you can, with a cooking course, driving lessons or a course in first-aid and CPR. Learning a new skill is not only empowering, it helps her become more employable should anything happen to affect her employment status with you. If you can’t afford to pay for a course, pay it back by giving your domestic worker an hour in her working day with you to do a free course, and assist with online registration. Another lovely gesture is to give her any points or credits you’ve accumulated from retailers at the end of the year to help her buy groceries or Christmas gifts for her family.
Is she safe in your home?
Domestic workers are often alone at your home during the day, shouldering a lot of responsibility to keep the property safe and protect any children or pets left in their care. Have regular talks about safety and security protocols so that she knows exactly what to do in case of an emergency, and have the numbers of local emergency, medical and police services on display.
Always inform your domestic worker about any contractors coming to work on your premises during the day and caution her to never open the door for strangers, regardless of the story they give. The media is full of reports of criminals conning their way into homes then assaulting and tying up domestic workers before ransacking the house. Take every safety precaution you can – your domestic worker also has a family she wants to safely get home to at the end of the day.
Make sure that what you pay is fair
Domestic workers are some of the most vulnerable members of the labour system, says Aisha. “Each year we conduct research into the living and work conditions of domestic workers, and our last report shows that 48 per cent of the domestic workforce are single parents and 65 per cent are the main breadwinners in the household. They are often trapped in a cycle of poverty, struggling just to make ends meet and put food on the table, so it’s heart-breaking that many of them are still being exploited in terms of long work hours and poor pay. Make sure that you pay a good wage for good work.”
There are many ways, big and small, in which you can make a difference in your domestic worker’s life, says Aisha. “Small acts of kindness, some of which are incredibly easy to do, can make a huge difference to her.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.24 per cent on Friday, April 25 after the duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Afriland Properties Plc landed on the losers’ table.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N2.58 to sell at N35.37 per unit compared with the previous day’s N37.95 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 2 Kobo to close at N17.78 per share versus Thursday’s closing value of N17.80 per share.
However, Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 10 Kobo during the trading day to sell for N1.80 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.70 per unit. The rise in the price of the stock could not prevent the fall of the bourse yesterday.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the trading platform went down by N4.64 billion to N1.914 trillion from N1.918 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 7.92 points to 3,269.06 points from 3,276.98 points.
The final trading session of the week ended with a surge of 1,695.8 per cent in the volume of securities transacted to 3.7 billion units from the 206.2 milion units transacted in the previous trading day.
Equally, the value of transactions jumped by 2,592.6 per cent to N9.5 billion from N354.1 million on Thursday, and the number of deals decreased by 47.4 per cent to 20 deals from the 38 deals recorded a day earlier.
Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 259.3 million units worth N456.1 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion.
Also, Okitipupa Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 15.6 million units worth N598.5 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.30 per cent fall was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday as a result of profit-taking in the industrial goods sector.
This was mainly caused by sell-offs in Dangote Cement Plc, which released its financial statements for the first quarter of 2025 yesterday.
The cement maker lost 10.00 per cent during the session to trade at N432.00, Regency Alliance lost 8.06 per cent to close at 57 Kobo, VFD Group depreciated by 7.57 per cent to N17.10, Chams declined by 7.27 per cent to N2.04, and Sovereign Trust Insurance crashed by 6.12 per cent to 92 Kobo.
Conversely, International Breweries, Legend Internet, and Ikeja Hotel gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N7.70, N6.82, and N12.10 apiece, Vitafoam Nigeria surged by 9.93 per cent to N44.85, and Eterna rose by 9.92 per cent to N39.90.
The industrial goods index was down by 4.73 per cent on Friday, as the others finished in green territory.
The consumer goods space rose by 2.21 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 1.55 per cent, the insurance counter expanded by 1.50 per cent, the energy sector increased by 0.07 per cent, and the commodity industry went up by 0.04 per cent.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 321.21 points to 105,753.05 points from 106,074.26 points and the market capitalisation shrank by N202 billion to N66.465 trillion from N66.667 trillion.
The level of activity increased yesterday as the trading volume, value, and number of deals grew by 30.40 per cent, 94.23 per cent, and 17.64 per cent, respectively.
This was because investors transacted 428.1 million shares worth N20.2 billion in 14,284 deals compared with the 328.3 million shares valued at N10.4 billion in traded in 12,142 deals a day earlier.
GTCO led the activity chart with 60.7 million equities sold for N3.8 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 41.4 million stocks worth N829.3 million, Access Holdings exchanged 40.6 million shares valued at N968.3 million, MTN Nigeria sold 33.0 million equities for N8.2 billion, and Zenith Bank transacted 22.9 million stocks worth N1.1 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira extended its gains against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, April 25 by 0.22 per cent or N3.59 to sell for N1,599.42/$1 compared with the N1,603.01/$1 it was traded in the previous session.
The Nigerian currency also improved its value against the Euro in the official market by N1.36 to close at N1,818.53/€1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,819.89/€1.
However, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N1.90 to wrap the session at N2,130.44/£1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N2,128.50/£1.
At the black market segment, the Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N2 to quote at N1,605/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s value of N1,607/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, a possible regulatory progress about digital assets in the US spurred buying interest among investors during the trading session.
The chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Paul Atkins, was at a crypto roundtable on Friday and he devoted his inaugural speech to assuring the industry that he will continue to remake securities policy to favor digital assets innovation.
Litecoin (LTC) rose by 3.0 per cent to $87.24, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 2.7 per cent to $0.1862, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 1.3 per cent to $94,687.84, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $1,797.51, Cardano (ADA) improved by 0.9 per cent to $0.7235, and Ripple (XRP) gained 0.6 per cent to close at $2.20.
On the flip side, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $151.64, and Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.8 per cent to sell for $602.89, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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