Call to protect rights of domestic workers
Workers' Day is a reminder about the importance of upholding human rights.
The Dignity in Every Home campaign is a national initiative focused on strengthening awareness of domestic workers’ rights and supporting employers to create trusting, fair, safe, dignified and lawful home-work environments.
The campaign, which aims to shift everyday practices by providing practical, legal and easy-to-follow guidelines for employers of domestic workers, is being run by Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa, the United Domestic Workers of South Africa and the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union.
The campaign includes three resources, entitled “Are You A Fair Employer?”, “Code of Good Conduct for Accommodating Live-In Domestic Workers” and “Employing a Domestic Worker – A Legal and Practical Guide”, which provide clear guidance for employers and domestic workers, focusing on a range of issues including, but not limited to, dignified accommodation, fair pay, working hours, leave, dismissal procedures, and mandatory registration for the Unemployment Insurance Fund and Compensation Fund for Occupational Injuries and Diseases.
These resources assist employers of domestic workers to have clear agreements and respectful working relations, which create security for workers and peace of mind for employers, so helping households function with dignity and care.
“As employers, we must understand the responsibility we take on when inviting someone to work in our homes. A cleaner or nanny must have the same labour rights we expect from our own employers,” says Amy Tekie, co-founder of Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance.
“Domestic workers in homes are often working 14 hour days, living apart from their families, and earning well below minimum wage. Workers are regularly bullied, assaulted, and treated with blatant discrimination. This happens behind the closed doors of private homes. It is now time for us to talk about this as a society, to admit that these practices are unconstitutional yet widespread, and to ensure that things change.”
Tekie explains that the resources shared in this campaign will help employers to easily identify where there may be gaps in their employment agreements, how to address the mandatory government registration requirements, and how to handle tricky situations.
For further information on promoting fair, lawful employment in private homes, visit: https://dignityineveryhome.org.za/
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