domestic workers: decent work for all – south africa - Solidar

DOMESTIC WORKERS:
DECENT WORK FOR ALL
– SOUTH AFRICA

INDEX
1. Role of domestic workers in the economy ........................................................................... 3
2. Wages and conditions of domestic workers in South Africa .............................................. 6
3. Organisation of domestic workers in South Africa .............................................................. 9
4. What has SADSAWU done in preparation for an ILO Convention? ................................. 11
5. Recommendations………………………………………………………………………………...12
6. References………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13
THE GLOBAL NETWORK
With the aim of achieving decent work for all, the Global Network works to empower women and
men who are activists in NGOs, trade unions, associations of informal workers and grassroots
movements to build capacity, exchange experiences and coordinate joint actions, at both
regional and international level.
WWW.THEGLOBALNETWORK.NET
This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union under the
project Globalising Decent Work and by UKaid from the Department for International
Development. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the publisher and
can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union nor UKaid/DFID.
GLOBAL NETWORK 2

1. Role of domestic workers in the economy
In terms of the International Standard Classification of Occupations of the International Labour
Organization (ILO), domestic work falls under at least two classifications: ―housekeeping‖ of a
relatively skilled and supervisory nature (including cooks, childcare workers and home-based
personal care workers) 1 and ―domestic cleaners and helpers‖ whose tasks include:
• Sweeping, vacuum-cleaning, polishing and washing floors and furniture, or washing
windows and other fixtures;
• Washing, ironing and mending linen and other textiles;
• Washing dishes;
• Preparing, cooking and serving meals and refreshments;
• Purchasing food and various other household supplies;
• Cleaning, disinfecting and deodorising kitchens, bathrooms and toilets;
• Cleaning windows and other glass surfaces. 2
In South Africa, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act defines a domestic worker as an
employee who performs domestic work in the home of his or her employer and includes a
―gardener‖, a ―person employed by a household as a driver of a motor vehicle‖ and a person
―who takes care of children, the aged, the sick, the frail or the disabled‖. 3 A distinguishing
feature of domestic work is that it is performed by individual domestic workers in private homes.
In many instances the domestic worker also lives on the premises of the employer. The
Department of Labour highlights a number of problems which characterise the nature of
domestic work, such as high levels of control, a regimented lifestyle, isolation, a lack of privacy,
job insecurity, poor working conditions, low wages, long hours and a heavy workload. 4
The ILO estimates that there are tens of millions of domestic workers worldwide, the vast
majority being women from the poorer sections of society. 5 Many work on a part time basis,
often for multiple employers. Many are migrant workers from other countries or from rural areas
in the same country. Large numbers of children are in domestic service and there are links
between children in domestic service and child trafficking, both within and between countries.
Despite differences in their working and legal circumstances, domestic workers worldwide share
common conditions, most notably their isolation, invisibility and lack of recognition of their
rights. 6
1 ILO Decent work for domestic workers Report IV(1), International Labour Conference, 99 th Session, 2010: Geneva,
First edition 2010 (hereafter ―the ILO Report‖) at http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---
relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms 104700.pdf (accessed 20 June 2009), p 30 Box III.1.
2 ILO: Updating the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO): Draft ISCO-08 Group Definitions:
Occupations in Cleaning and Housekeeping (Policy Integration Department: Bureau of Statistics; undated) p 9.
3 Section 1, Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (BCEA).
4 Media statement by the honorable minister of labour, Mr. Membathisi Mdladlana, on the release of a report about
wages and conditions of employment for domestic workers, 10 July 2001. Available at
http://www.search.gov.za/info/previewDocument.jsp?dk=%2Fdata%2Fstatic%2Finfo%2Fspeeches%2F2001%2F01071
0410p1001.htm%40Gov&q=(+((mdladlana)%3CIN%3ETitle)+)%3CAND%3E(category%3Ccontains%3Es)&t=Mdladlana
%3A+Wages+and+conditions+of+employment+for+domestic+workers [accessed 10 January 2010].
5 ILO: Briefing note on domestic work, prepared by S. Grumiau at the request of the ILO's Bureau for Workers' Activities,
Geneva, June 2007, quoted in ILO, GB 300/2/2, Proposal for the agenda of the 99th Session(2010) of the Conference,
Governing Body 300th Session, Geneva, November 2007. The ILO Bureau of Statistics Database shows that domestic
work is a far more important source of employment for women than for men. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 10 to
18 per cent of women employed are in domestic work; in the Arab countries, specifically in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates, the figure rises to over 40 per cent. Domestic employment is also important to women in many
countries in Asia and Africa: in the Philippines 11 per cent of women are employed in domestic work, in Botswana 11
percent, in Namibia 12 per cent and in South Africa 16 per cent. By contrast, in very few countries are more than one
per cent of men employed in domestic service.
6 Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing, Informal workers in focus: Domestic Workers. Available
at http://wiego.org/publications/FactSheets/WIEGO_Domestic_Workers.pdf.
GLOBAL NETWORK 3

The ILO accepts that domestic work is an important occupation for millions of individuals
worldwide, absorbing up to 10% of total employment in some countries. However, this work is
undervalued and poorly regulated. Research by Human Rights Watch on domestic work in
twenty countries confirms that domestic workers are among the most exploited and abused
workers in the world. 7 Predominantly (though not exclusively) women and girls, they often
experience working conditions that fall far short of international standards, including low and
irregular pay, excessively long hours of work, lack of rest periods and exclusion from social
protection such as social security and maternity benefits. 8 Domestic workers may also face
physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, food deprivation, forced confinement and trafficking
into forced labour. These risks are heightened as a result of their isolation in private
households, the imbalance of power between employer and worker, lack of information or ability
to seek help, and financial pressures and debts that make them afraid to lose their
employment. 9
Historical background
Prior to the 20th century, ―servants‖ and workers in many countries had little or no protection in
law. The only real advantage that domestic service provided was the provision of meals and
accommodation, and sometimes clothes, in addition to the modest wage. Also, it was in some
cases an ―apprentice‖ system with room for advancement through the ranks. However, it was
also perilous, particularly for females, as there was little protection from abuse, including sexual
exploitation, by unscrupulous employers or other members of the family.
In a country such as Britain this system peaked towards the close of the Victorian era, perhaps
reaching its most complicated and rigidly structured state during the early 1900s, which
reflected the limited social mobility of the time. In much of the former colonial and developing
world systems of domestic employment have remained entrenched to this day, while new
patterns of migration of mainly female domestic workers from these countries to developed
countries have emerged in recent decades.
Why women work as domestic workers
A combination of push and pull factors contribute to women entering domestic work, either in
their own countries or abroad. Rural poverty has increased in many countries due to structural
adjustment programmes, devastation of the agricultural sector, economic crises and other
factors. 10 This has pushed many women and girls into the domestic labour market. With few
formal jobs available and faced with gender discrimination, often coupled with discrimination
based on caste or class, race or ethnicity, their options for decent work are limited. And, as
most are from poor households, they often have low levels of education and few marketable
skills other than housekeeping and caring for others. Cleaning, cooking and looking after
children and the elderly is almost universally regarded as women's work, which means that men
rarely compete with women in this job market. Domestic work is, therefore, one of the few
employment opportunities open to poor women.
Migrant workers
Over the past three decades the proportion of women among international migrant workers has
increased significantly. Women now make up approximately half of the estimated 200 million
migrants worldwide, with women and girl domestic workers an important part of this group. 11 In
many countries, however, lack of formal skills makes it impossible for migrant domestic workers
to obtain work permits, thus reducing them to undocumented status and practically excluding
them from the protection of the law. 12 In addition, research has revealed that many migrant
domestic workers in western countries are skilled professionals who downsize their expertise
after migrating because their skills may not be formally recognised. However, forced to leave
7 Swept Under the Rug: Abuses Against Domestic Workers Throughout the World Human Rights Watch 27 July 2006;
available at http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2006/07/27/swept-under-rug-0.
8 The ILO Report (n 1) 7.
9 Trafficking, forced labour and exploitation of migrant domestic workers in the UK Antislavery 2007; available at
www.antislavery.org. Accessed 18 January 2010.
10 Human Rights Watch (n 7), p16.
11 Manual for domestic workers organising for a better future 2007 Committee for Asian Women (CAW)
12 Kalayaan (2009) Kalayaan: justice for migrant domestic workers. Available at www.kalayaan.org.uk [accessed 10
January 2010].
GLOBAL NETWORK 4

their home countries by hardship, they turn to domestic work in the adopted countries to
survive. 13
Child labour
Throughout the world there are thousands of girls working in domestic service, especially in the
developing world. They are particularly ―invisible‖ and their conditions are among the most
difficult to research. The ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC)
notes that available statistics probably show only the "tip of the iceberg" and provide "an
alarming indication of the extent of the phenomenon worldwide". It reports that around 175,000
children under 18 are employed in domestic service in Central America and more than 688,000
in Indonesia. Most child labourers are between 12 and 17 years of age but some are as young
as five. In South Africa nearly 54,000 children under 15 are working as domestic workers and in
Guatemala around 38,000 children between 5 and 7 are performing domestic work. It is also
estimated that more girls under 16 work in domestic service than in any other category of child
labour.
Domestic workers and the global economy
The United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Economic Social Council has observed that in
developed countries migrant domestic workers are becoming indispensable in enabling women
to advance in employment and in society. The work of migrant domestic workers in caring for
the elderly has taken on particular importance as a result of the ageing of the population in
many developed countries, which has also resulted in shortages of mainly skilled labour. In
Canada, for example, Statistics Canada pointed out in 2003 that labour shortages were arising
in sectors such as health care and education as new entrants to the labour market are fewer
than the numbers of the ―baby boom‖ generation approaching retirement age. 14 The role of
domestic workers is essential in enabling Canadian women to fill some of the vacancies.
Need for action
These conditions have given rise to calls for ILO member states to develop a new instrument
(preferably a Convention supplemented by a Recommendation) addressing the special
conditions of domestic workers and strengthening their protection. As will become clear from the
next section, it is important to note that any measures taken should consist not only of legal
rules but should include programmes to implement those rules and, most importantly, to
address the underlying conditions which are at the root of domestic workers’ disempowerment
and exploitation. The ILO emphasises that such an instrument must be a ―well-crafted
regulatory mechanism‖ supported by ―suitable enforcement machinery‖ to ―convey the message
that domestic workers are indeed workers who deserve both rights and respect‖. 15
In this way international law would guide member states in enacting legislative and enforcement
frameworks that protect the rights of domestic workers. Although current international labour
standards address the rights of all workers, including domestic workers, clearly a gap still exists
between application and enforcement of decent work principles that has to be bridged if
conditions of employment in this sector are to improve. In short, the new instrument must
• ensure broad coverage to reach as many domestic workers as possible;
• facilitate wide, immediate ratification and continuous improvement of domestic
workers’ working and living conditions and access to social security; and
• provide sufficient guidance and incentives to enable the provisions to be meaningfully
implemented in practice. 16
13 Anderson, B (2000). A foot in the door: The social organisation of paid domestic work in Europe. Doing the dirty work?
The global politics of domestic labour.
14 CBC News ―Greying workforce could mean labour shortages: Statistics Canada‖ 11 February 2003; available at
http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2003/02/11/workforce_030211.html (accessed 16 January 2010). The report adds: ―In
2001, there was an average of 2.7 job force entrants aged 20 to 34 for every person over the age of 55. Twenty years
ago, the ratio was 3.7 young entrants for every worker within sight of retirement.‖
15 The ILO Report (n 1) pars 94 – 96.
16 The ILO Report (n 1) pars 94 – 96.
GLOBAL NETWORK 5

In practice, the instrument must strive to elevate domestic work to a professional level and give
workers in this sector access to social security, including maternity benefits. It should build on
national regulatory innovations in law and practice that reflect the specificity of domestic work
while taking into account the particular vulnerability of domestic workers, including age and
migration status, and identify appropriate standards. 17 Given the significance of deeply rooted
informal practices that disadvantage domestic workers in their employment relationship, the
proposed instrument needs to offer sufficient guidance to ILO Members to ensure that coverage
is real rather than just a commitment on paper.
2. Wages and conditions of domestic workers in South Africa
Since 1994 domestic workers in South Africa have become subject to the same legislative
provisions that are applicable to all employees. Most important among these are the Labour
Relations Act (LRA), 18 providing (among other things) for protection against unfair dismissal and
the right to organise and strike, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), 19 laying down
minimum working conditions for employees in the workplace, the Employment Equity Act
(EEA) 20 , protecting all employees against unfair discrimination, and the Skills Development Act
(SDA), 21 creating a framework for improving the skills of South African workers on a sectoral
basis. As in many other countries, however, these laws are mainly directed at the conditions of
workers in ―standard‖ (full-time, indefinite) employment in formal workplaces or organised
sectors and in many ways fail to address the problems that domestic workers face. As a result,
Sectoral Determination 7 (SD7)22 was promulgated in 2002 to provide specifically for this
sector.
Minimum conditions of employment
The most prominent feature of SD7 is that it set minimum wages for the domestic worker sector,
which had not been done before. Notably, SD7 prescribed different wages depending on the
area where the worker works and the number of hours worked per week. The areas are split
according to municipal boundaries into ―area A‖, consisting of the listed metropolitan areas, and
―area B‖ covering the rest of the country. As at 2010, the minimum wage for area A was set at
R1,442.86 (approx. US$197) for those working more than 27 ordinary hours per week and
R1,022.17 (approx. US$140) for those working 27 ordinary hours per week or less or in both
cases, by agreement, a prescribed minimum hourly rate for the number of hours worked. For
area B, the minimum wage was R1,191.78 (approx. US$163) for those working more than 27
ordinary hours per week, and R844.90 (approx. US$115) for those working 27 ordinary hours
per week or less, or the relevant hourly rate 23 .
According to SD7, the prescribed wage must furthermore increase by 8% annually and, should
the inflation rate be higher than 10%, the Department of Labour (DoL) will adjust the rate of the
wage increase 24 .
Coupled with the prescribed minimum wages are the minimum working conditions afforded to
domestic workers in terms of SD7, which include:
• Working hours per week (a maximum of 45 ordinary hours plus 15 hours overtime) 25 ;
• Calculation of overtime pay (at least one-and-a-half times the ordinary rate) 26 ;
• Written information concerning pay 27 ;
17 The ILO Report (n 1) pars 94 – 96; Manual for domestic workers organising for a better future 2007 Committee for
Asian Women (CAW).
18 Act 66 of 1995.
19 Act 75 of 1997.
20 Act 55 of 1998.
21 Act 97 of 1998.
22 GNR.1068 of 15 August 2002: Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Worker Sector, South Africa.
23 GNR 737 dated 17 July 2009
24 Clause 3 of Sectoral Determination7, supra
25 Clauses 10-12 of Sectoral Determination7, supra
26 Clause 17 of Sectoral Determination7, supra
27 Clause 9 of Sectoral Determination7, supra
GLOBAL NETWORK 6

• Provisions for paid leave (at least three weeks’ annual leave, sick leave, five days’
family responsibility leave and four months’ unpaid maternity leave) 28 ;
• Prohibition of child labour and forced labour 29 ; and
• Termination of employment 30 .
Protection of basic rights
Other legislative provisions covering domestic workers, as noted already, include protection
against unfair labour practices, 31 unfair dismissal 32 and unfair discrimination. 33 In a number of
cases, especially after termination of employment, domestic workers have been able to enforce
their rights in terms of these statutes. 34 In Ndlovu v Pather, 35 for example, the applicant had
been dismissed because she was pregnant and needed to attend a clinic for regular checkups.
Her employer alleged that she had resigned. The Labour Court held that it was improbable that
she (the domestic worker) had wanted to resign as she was in dire financial straits and needed
to work for as long as possible. The outcome of the case was in the worker’s favour. The court
found that she had been dismissed for reasons relating to her pregnancy, amounting to an
automatic unfair dismissal in terms of section 187 of the LRA, and she was awarded 20 months’
remuneration as compensation.
The combined effect of the LRA and the EEA, therefore, is that an employer may not prevent a
pregnant woman from entering the labour market, may not disadvantage her during the
existence of the employment relationship and may not prematurely terminate her employment
owing to her pregnancy and/or family responsibilities. The question, however, is the extent to
which rights such as these are upheld in practice.
Social assistance
Social protection is available to domestic workers in the form of social assistance measures and
social insurance measures. 36 In terms of the Social Assistance Act 37 basic relief is available to
everyone, including domestic workers, provided they qualify in terms of the means test
applicable to all applicants. 38 These measures consist of the following:
• a child support grant;
• a care dependency grant (available to persons caring for children with special needs);
• a foster child grant;
• a disability grant;
• an older person’s grant;
• a war veteran’s grant; and
• a grant-in-aid (available to persons who require regular care).
28 Clauses 19-22 of Sectoral Determination7, supra
29 Clause 23 of Sectoral Determination7, supra
30 Clauses 24-30 of Sectoral Determination7, supra
31 Sections 185-186 of the LRA.
32 Sections 185-195 of the LRA.
33 Section 6 of the EEA.
34 Disputes referred by domestic workers accounted for 12,1% of all employment disputes referred to the Commission
for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) during 2003—2005: I. Macun, D. Lopes and P. Benjamin: An
analysis of Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration Awards, Development Policy Research Unit, Working
Paper 08/134 (University of Cape Town, 2008), p. 15.
35 (2006) 27 ILJ 2671 (LC).
36 The distinction between ―social assistance‖ and ―social insurance‖ is that the former consists of basic benefits
financed by the state while the latter consists of benefits funded jointly by contributions from employers and employees.
37 Act 13 of 2004.
38 The means tests are set out in Annexures A, B, C and D of the Regulations relating to the application for and
payment of social assistance and the requirements or conditions in respect of eligibility for social assistance (GNR.898
of 22 August 2008: Government Gazette No. 31356).
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Subject to the conditions and regulations laid down by law, free medical care is available to
pregnant women, children below the age of six years, and women requesting termination of
pregnancy. Furthermore, all persons are entitled to free primary health care services. 39 Due to
pressure on resources, however, the availability and quality of health care services have in
some cases proven to be problematic, especially in rural areas.
Social insurance
In terms of the Unemployment Insurance Act 40 (UIA), which has been amended to include
domestic workers, social insurance benefits 41 available to contributors or dependants of
contributor are:
• unemployment benefits;
• illness benefits;
• maternity benefits;
• adoption benefits; and
• dependant’s benefits.
While these measures are available to safeguard domestic workers in the event of unplanned
contingencies befalling them, they are not sufficient. A major problem is that only a minority of
domestic workers are registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). One of the
reasons is that many domestic workers work for different employers, while a requirement for
registration is that ta contributor has to work a minimum of 24 hours per month for a particular
employer. 42 A year after the introduction of SD7 it was found that no more than 25% of domestic
workers were registered with the UIF. 43 More recently, a survey 44 revealed that, out of a sample
of some 200 employers, 41.4% (82 in number) had registered their domestic employees
although 56.2% indicted that they were aware of SD7. Various reasons were provided by the
remainder for not registering the domestic workers, ranging from ―the process is too time
consuming‖ or ―it is not worth the effort‖ to ―I do not know where to get the relevant information‖.
At about the same time, a readers’ poll on a newspaper website 45 revealed that, out of 677
respondents, 48% (327 employers) indicated that they had registered their domestic workers
with the UIF and were paying contributions. Significantly, while very few respondents revealed
substantive reasons for not having registered their domestic workers, many used the platform to
voice their grievances against the current government.
Another problem area is the absence of retirement funds for domestic workers to accumulate
benefits during their years of service, unless the employer has created one for them. If a
domestic worker leaves employment, no means of support is available other than the older
person’s grant. 46
Remedial action
Against this background a number of initiatives have been taken or proposed to improve the
application and effectiveness of legal regulation in the domestic employment sector. In
particular, the following may be noted:
39 Section 4, National Health Act 61 of 2003 read with section 2, Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act 92 of 1996.
40 Act 63 of 2001
41 The amount of benefits depends on the remuneration of the contributor, ranging from 30.78% of remuneration in the
case of the highest-paid to 58.64% in the case of the lowest-paid: see Schedule 3, UIA. The period for which benefits
are payable is limited and depends on the contributor’s length of employment.
42 Section 3, UIA.
43 Tom Hertz Have Minimum Wages Benefited South Africa’s Domestic Service Workers? African Development and
Poverty Reduction: The Macro-Micro Linkage: Forum Paper (2004) at
http://www.wiego.org/occupational_groups/pdfs/South%20Africa_Hertz_Minimum_Wages_for_Domestics.pdf (accessed
16 January 2010).
44 Conducted by African Response for Social Law Project in mid-2009.
45 Placed on www.iol.co.za on 7 August 2009.
46 Unemployment benefits are only available for a limited period and may only be claimed if the employer has dismissed
the employee or is insolvent or a fixed-term contract has terminated: section 14, UIA.
GLOBAL NETWORK 8

• Since 2005 the inspectorate of the Department of Labour has increased its inspections
of employers of domestic workers, conducting numerous ―blitz‖ campaigns in major
cities.
In early 2009, for example, an inspection was carried out in the Western Cape of 576
employers (workplaces) with the aid of 50 inspectors. In the initial inspection period
there was a 40% level of compliance and some 322 follow ups were planned. In the
follow-up inspections, 284 workplaces were revisited and the total compliance level
grew to 94%. 47
Another inspection carried out in the affluent Sea Point, Mouille Point and Fresnaye
areas of Cape Town involved 80 site inspections conducted by 15 inspectors. There
was a 51% level of compliance. Follow up inspections were planned for those who did
not comply. "Issuing of written particulars" and issuing of "information concerning pay"
were the two most contravened sections of the Sectoral Determination 7. 48
• A Domestic Workers Skills Development Project has been launched to raise the skills
levels of domestic workers, with positive results for those who took part. 49
• Requests have been put to the Minister of Labour to create a provident fund for
domestic workers.
It is suggested, however, that a more comprehensive and coherent range of measures, based
on a systematic analysis of the position of domestic workers, is needed to give effect to the
rights of domestic workers. A number of proposals are made in the final section of this paper.
3. Organisation of domestic workers in South Africa
There are two registered trade unions organising domestic workers in South Africa: the
Domestic and General Workers Union (SADAGWU), operating in the Western Cape, and the
South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU) which is active in all
major centres. While acknowledging the work done by SADAGWU, this paper will for practical
reasons focus on the role of SADSAWU as giving more insight into the challenges of organising
domestic workers nationally.
The SADWU experience
The South African Domestic Workers Union (SADWU) was formed in 1986 from the merger of
several locally based organisations, with 300 delegates attending its founding Congress.
SADWU joined COSATU in 1986, by which time it had 20,000 paid-up members, 50,000 signed
up members, 50 full-time organisers and 14 offices. At its height the union serviced an
estimated 350,000 workers. Financial support was received from a number of foreign NGOs,
much of it from the Interchurch Organisation for Development Co-operation (ICCO) in the
Netherlands. Money was also raised from subscriptions collected by hand. From 1996-1997,
however, the union experienced increasing problems and went into a decline. 50 Financial
support dried up in 1996. At the end of 1996, advised by COSATU office-bearers, SADWU
agreed to dissolve and the union finally disbanded in 1997. 51
47 Department of Labour Site Inspections carried out 2-12 February 2009 In the Western Cape and the follow up
inspections Conducted 2-12 March 2009.
48 Report On The Domestic Worker Blitz Conducted From 6-8 April 2009 In The Western Cape ". Department of Labour,
Western Cape
49 The project, funded by the Skills Development Fund and administered by the Services Sector Education and Training
Authority (SSETA), was outlined in the SETA’s Business Plan for the Domestic Workers Skills Development Project of
July 2001. See TS Wessels The Development Impact of the Domestic Workers Skills Development Project on its
Participants (MA thesis, University of South Africa, December 2006), available at
http://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/1720.
50 Roseline Nyman An organisational challenge - The unionisation of domestic workers (NALEDI, Policy Memo
December1996).
51 Unpublished article ―Cosatu is a collective body, i.e. can discuss all sufferings, but if the union is not there, nothing is
caring for domestic workers‖.
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In 1996 the National Labour, Economic and Development Institute (NALEDI) produced a Policy
Memo examining organisation strategies for domestic workers. 52 Trade unionism was one of the
models presented as an option, and the experience of domestic workers’ unions was
highlighted. The document pointed out that SADWU’s collapse was not a reflection of the failure
of the trade union model. Rather, it reflected the difficulties inherent in organising domestic
workers and the need for more careful strategising.
The launch of SADSAWU
SADSAWU was launched in 2000 because labour laws introduced by the new democratic
government of South Africa did not fully address the needs of domestic workers while, in the
case of the then existing UIA, domestic workers continued to be excluded. The need was felt to
create a strong and viable union for the domestic worker sector, not only to ensure that the
rights of domestic workers would be protected but also to give these vulnerable men and
women a voice in the drafting of future labour legislation which would include their sector.
Further assistance was secured from foreign donors and the union’s Constitution was signed in
Durban on 27 May 2000 by Hester Stephens (President) and Myrtle Witbooi (General
Secretary). Its aims and objectives were as follows:
• To protect and promote the interests of it members and to regulate relations between
workers and employers;
• To settle disputes between workers and employers;
• To promote, support or oppose, as may be deemed expedient, any proposed
legislative or other measures affecting the interests of members;
• To provide, where deemed necessary, legal assistance to members in connection with
their employment;
• To work towards the unity of the working class, regardless of race, colour or religion,
and to this end to work with any other progressive organisations, national or
international, which share the same aims, objectives and ideas of this Union and which
serve the interests of the members and the working class as a whole;
• To organise the unorganised;
• To provide training, education and improvement of skills needed by the members in
their employment, and in running the affairs of the Union and to promote their standard
of living generally;
• To publish newsletters, articles and other documentation on domestic work; and
• Do all such other lawful things as may be in the interest of members of the Union to
promote the attainment of any or all of the above objectives.
Interventions and campaigns
Various steps have been taken to give effect to these aims and objectives. The exclusion of
domestic workers from the previous UIA has been noted. The new Unemployment Insurance
Bill drafted in 2000 again excluded domestic workers and provided only for their potential
inclusion following a Ministerial investigation. In its March 2001 submission on the Bill COSATU
presented this as part of its Core Areas of Concern and in 2003 the UIA was finally amended to
terminate the exclusion of domestic workers. 53
Since June 2001 SADSAWU has been making submissions to the Department of Labour on
minimum wages for domestic workers, which have increased in urban areas from R800 (approx.
US$109) per month in 2002 to R1 442.86 (approx. US$197) in 2010, and in rural areas from
R650 (approx. US$89) per month to R1 197.78 (approx. US$164) 54 .
52 Roseline Nyman An organisational challenge - The unionisation of domestic workers (NALEDI, Policy Memo
December1996).
53 Unemployment Insurance Amendment Act 32 of 2003.
54 GNR 737 dated 17 July 2009
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At a special conference on Domestic Workers in the New South Africa in October 2005 a
number of resolutions were endorsed, including one approving a partnership of SADSAWU with
the Afrilink Development Corporation who was to make resources available to assist with the
organising of workers. 55
In 2009 SADSAWU accepted an invitation to serve on the Reference team of the Domestic
Workers Research Project at the University of the Western Cape, which has enjoyed the benefit
of SADSAWU’s active presence since the inception of the project in January 2009. The
relationship between the project and the union has enabled the project to better understand the
union’s activities as well as providing access to important information for improving conditions of
workers in the sector.
Campaigns that SADSAWU 56 has been involved in have focused on the following issues,
among others:
• Exploitation of workers by recruitment agencies;
• A living wage;
• Domestic Worker Plan launched by Old Mutual in 2007
• The National Health Act;
• Sexual harassment at work;
• A Skills Development Centre for Domestic Workers; and
• The campaign for an ILO Convention for domestic workers.
The last-mentioned campaign will enter its critical stage in 2010 and is dealt with in more detail
in the following section. Key campaigns planned by SADSAWU for 2010 include:
• Resuscitation of the domestic worker Skills Development Project which saw the
training of approximately 27,000 domestic workers between 2004 and 2007, and
• Compensation for injuries at work suffered by domestic workers. 57
4. What has SADSAWU done in preparation for an ILO
Convention?
In November 2006 an international conference on 'Respect and Rights: Protection for domestic
workers!' was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Some 60 participants came from domestic
workers' organisations, networks, trade unions and support organisations as well as
researchers from all continents. It was the first-ever global meeting of this nature to discuss the
situation of domestic workers and the development of effective international action to fight for
their rights.
The conference decided that an International Domestic Workers’ Network (IDWN), run by and
for domestic workers' organisations across the world, should be established. At a follow-up
meeting in September 2008 a provisional Steering Committee was formed and Myrtle Witbooi,
General Secretary of SADSAWU, was elected as its chairperson. By virtue of her position she
has been actively involved in the work of the IDWN, building organisation and leading the
campaign for an ILO Convention on Domestic Work. SADSAWU is also one of the IDWN
representatives of the Africa Region.
55 SADSAWU Records, Resolutions adopted at the SADSAWU Special Meeting in October 2005.
56 Myrtle Witbooi, General Secretary of SADSAWU, identified some major campaigns that the union had been involved
in: interview, December 2009.
57 Interview with Myrtle Witbooi, 27 January 2010.
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An Africa Regional Workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, on 27-28 November 2009 was co-facilitated by
Myrtle Witbooi and Hester Stephens of SADSAWU, among others. The workshop aimed to:
• Enable participants to learn from each other by sharing experiences of organising
domestic workers and the legal/organising context in which they operate;
• Develop an understanding of the IDWN and share ideas on the way forward;
• Strengthen solidarity and networking amongst domestic workers unions/organisations
in Africa; and
• Understand the ILO process towards an ILO Convention on domestic work.
A similar Asia Regional Workshop, led by Myrtle Witbooi, was held in Hong Kong in mid-
December 2009. ―Decent work for domestic workers‖ was the rallying point for celebrations
organised by SADSAWU on Thursday, 10 December 2009. The event, held at Community
House in Salt River, Cape Town, coincided with the United Nations Human Rights Day and
International Migrants Rights Day – the day set aside to reinforce the universality of human
rights and the need to shield migrants from abuse and exploitation. 58
Through these and other activities the experience and resources of SADSAWU have been
invested to a significant extent in the campaign for an ILO Convention on domestic work.
Although it is well aware that the adoption of a Convention will not automatically change
conditions on the ground and that the real struggle will be to ensure the implementation of such
a Convention, it would nevertheless set an important new benchmark and mark a step forward
to which SADSAWU is committed.
5. Recommendations
There is only so much that the law can do to change conditions on the ground; most labour
lawyers would agree that the issue is not so much the letter of the law as its implementation.
Having said that, it remains important that the law should create the best possible framework for
supporting the action that is needed to transform the lives of domestic workers. South African
legislation already incorporates many of the rights and objectives which are envisaged in the
campaign for an ILO Convention on domestic work. However, there are some problem areas
where the existing law forms a barrier to change or has shortcomings which need to be
addressed. Within the space of the present paper only a few of the most important problems
can be noted.
• The LRA’s provisions for trade unions’ organisational rights 59 are geared mainly to the
position of ―standard employees‖ in larger formal workplaces. Trade unions and other
interested organisations should launch a project to develop a model of organisation
and collective bargaining 60 appropriate to the domestic worker sector, drawing on
experience gained elsewhere – for example, in the agricultural sector 61 and
internationally. 62 The support of the Department of Labour should be sought for such
an initiative and any amendments to the LRA that may be necessary.
• Domestic work continues to be regarded as uniformly unskilled – reflected, for
example, in a single (low) minimum wage in SD7 for all domestic workers. The
empowerment of domestic workers will not be complete without enabling them to
improve their skills 63 and, importantly, recognising those skills by means of appropriate
wage differentials. This could be promoted by re-launching the Domestic Workers
58 Ray Mungoshi (2009) ―Women of Worth‖: The SADSAWU lobbying call for the ILO Domestic Workers’ Convention.
Media Report covering the event.
59 Sections 11-21, LRA.
60 For example, structured participation by domestic workers’ unions and employers’ representatives in annual revisions
of SD7 would be one possible way of laying a basis for wage bargaining in this sector.
61 See Mazibuko K. Jara Monitoring Compliance with the Sectoral Determination for Farm Workers in 5 Western Cape
Farming Districts: Report of an Exploratory Study Women on Farms Project (2006).
62 See ILO report pars 265-297.
63 See, for example, ILO Report par 301.
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Skills Development Project on a national scale and laying down differentiated wage
scales, linked to skills levels, in SD7.
• The CCMA has been highly successful as a dispute resolution centre and a
mechanism for enforcing the rights of organised workers in particular. Domestic
workers, however, are seldom in a position to launch formal proceedings against their
employers. The CCMA and Department of Labour should support a study by trade
unions and support organisations of alternative models of dispute resolution centres
that would be accessible to domestic workers – in particular, to provide them with
advice and mediate disputes. 64
• Cross-border migration, also by large numbers of domestic workers, has become a
reality which the existing legal framework is completely unable to regulate. The
Immigration Act makes it virtually impossible for a non-South African domestic worker
to obtain a work permit, with the result that such workers are to a large extent
―undocumented‖ and vulnerable to abuse. Research and policy initiatives are needed
to address the issue with a view to regulating cross-border migration rather than trying
to prevent it. Proposals by the African Union in this regard should be studied; in
particular, the proposal for ―regional labour exchanges aimed at facilitating the
employment of available human resources of one Member State in other Member
States where there are shortages of skilled labour‖ 65 should be broadened to take
account of the reality that many migrants are formally ―unskilled‖.
In addition, special attention should be paid to a number of proposals contained in the ILO
Report as to the content of the instrument(s) to be adopted – in particular, the issues reflected in
questions 18, 19, 21, 22, 26 and 31 relating to the content of a possible Convention and
questions 35, 36, 39, 43, 47, 51, 53 and 55 relating to the content of a possible
Recommendation.
The adoption of a Convention providing for the necessary flexibility in its implementation is
important because it would oblige ratifying member states to extend special legal protection to
domestic workers – a process that could transform the perception of domestic work and boost
the self- confidence of domestic workers world-wide. In addition, a Recommendation would
serve the important purpose of providing Member States with practical guidelines in this
relatively new and complicated area of employment regulation.
Given its relatively developed infrastructure of labour legislation and the experience of SD7,
South Africa should be in the forefront not only of campaigning for the adoption of a Convention
and a Recommendation, but also in taking the necessary legal and practical measures to give
effect to those instruments.
6. References
Statutes
• Department of Labour, Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997
• Unemployment Insurance Amendment Act 32 of 2003.
• Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Worker Sector, South Africa.
Books/journal articles/internet sources
• Anderson, B (2000). A foot in the door: The social organisation of paid domestic work in
Europe. Doing the dirty work? The global politics of domestic labour.
• CBC News ―Greying workforce could mean labour shortages: Statistics Canada‖ 11
February 2003; available at
http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2003/02/11/workforce_030211.html.
64 See, for example, the Domestic Service Tribunal of Buenos Aires: ILO Report par 256.
65 African Union Draft Strategic Framework for a Policy on Migration in Africa (undated) p 10; available at
http://www.africa-union.org/Social%20Affairs/labour/LSC-6-
AU%20Migration%20policy%20revised%20BY%20Consultant.PDF
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• ILO Decent work for domestic workers Report IV(1), International Labour Conference,
99th Session, 2010: Geneva, First edition 2010 (hereafter ―the ILO Report‖) at
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---
relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms 104700.pdf
• ILO: Updating the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO): Draft
ISCO-08 Group Definitions: Occupations in Cleaning and Housekeeping (Policy
Integration Department: Bureau of Statistics; undated)
• ILO: Briefing note on domestic work, prepared by S. Grumiau at the request of the ILO's
Bureau for Workers' Activities, Geneva, June 2007, quoted in ILO, GB 300/2/2,
Proposal for the agenda of the 99th Session(2010) of the Conference, Governing Body
300th Session, Geneva, November 2007.
• Kalayaan (2009) Kalayaan: justice for migrant domestic workers. Available at
www.kalayaan.org.uk [accessed 10 January 2010].
• LRS: Commission on Gender Equality, Domestic Workers and Unemployment
Insurance: should sisters be doing it for themselves.
• Manual for domestic workers organising for a better future 2007 Committee for Asian
Women (CAW)
• Mazibuko K. Jara Monitoring Compliance with the Sectoral Determination for Farm
Workers in 5 Western Cape Farming Districts: Report of Exploratory Study Women on
Farms Project (2006).
• Ray Mungoshi. 2009. ―Women of Worth‖. The SADSAWU lobbying call for the ILO
Domestic Workers’ Convention. Media Report covering the event.
• Report On The Domestic Worker Blitz Conducted From 6-8 April 2009 In The Western
Cape. Department of Labour, Western Cape
• Roseline Nyman An organisational challenge - The unionisation of domestic workers
(NALEDI, Policy Memo December1996).
• SADSAWU Records, Resolutions adopted at the SADSAWU Special Meeting in
October
• Social Law Project Survey, Conducted by African Response in mid-2009.
• Swept Under the Rug: Abuses Against Domestic Workers Throughout the
World Human Rights Watch 27 July 2006; available at
http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2006/07/27/swept-under-rug-0.
• Tom Hertz Have Minimum Wages Benefited South Africa’s Domestic Service Workers?
African Development and Poverty Reduction: The Macro-Micro Linkage: Forum Paper
(2004) at
http://www.wiego.org/occupational_groups/pdfs/South%20Africa_Hertz_Minimum_Wag
es_for_Domestics.pdf
• Trafficking, forced labour and exploitation of migrant domestic workers in the UK
Antislavery 2007; available at www.antislavery.org.
• TS Wessels The Development Impact of the Domestic Workers Skills Development
Project on its Participants (MA thesis, University of South Africa, December 2006),
available at http://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/1720.
• Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing, Informal workers in focus:
Domestic Workers. Available at
http://wiego.org/publications/FactSheets/WIEGO_Domestic_Workers.pdf.
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