With the dissolution of Sadwu, domestic staff now have even fewer provisions available to protect their interests and working conditions, writes Fay Davids
THE domestic worker affiliate union of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has been dissolved, leaving question marks over the effectiveness of world-class legislation about to be passed to protect the sector.
The South African Domestic Workers Union (Sadwu) decided to dissolve at a special congress held a fortnight ago and the decision has since been ratified by Cosatu.
Sadwu suffered a severe cut in foreign funding, with allegations of mismanagement also being levelled at the union’s leadership in Cape Town. The federation will not confirm rumours of mismanagement, though assistant general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi says funding from Nordic countries, which sustained the union, has slowed to a trickle in the past two years.
“You cannot run a union on external funds,” says Vavi.
Now Sadwu members are seeking affiliation to other Cosatu unions. It has earmarked the South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union, as well as the Transport and General Workers Union as a potential home for its 12 000 members.
There is also talk at Cosatu of the formation of a service union where security guards, cleaners, workers in the hotel and catering industry, as well as domestic workers can be organised. Vavi says: “It’s sad that domestic workers don’t have a home. They can’t exploit the fruits of democracy when we don’t have a collective.”
Domestic work in South Africa has a hue all of its own. It’s always been coloured by apartheid; most madams are white; most maids black. But that’s changing with the growth of a new black middle class. The country’s large pool of unskilled labour means that for many young and mostly rural black women, domestic work is their only career path.
Work is often long and underpaid. Although Sadwu recommends a salary of R1 200, very few employers pay this. In some areas, salaries still barely top R100 a month.
About three years ago, Cosatu successfully campaigned for the inclusion of domestic and farmworkers in the ambit of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. The new provisions did not set a minimum wage; all they did was put in place fairer working conditions, set working hours, holiday pay and leave. It was lauded at the time, though it is now clear that the legislation is little more than a pretty paper concept.
“The legislation has had very little impact,” says Vavi. This legislation is set to be beefed up by its inclusion in the Employment Standards Bill, currently being negotiated at the National Economic Development and Labour Council.
The Labour Department’s director of minimum standards, Lisa Seftel, says domestic workers could have a separate Sectoral Employment Standard. This standard would take into account the special conditions of domestic work, including the fact that most domestic workers live on their employer’s premises and look after young children.
Seftel says enforcing such stringent legislation is difficult. “There’s a constitutional constraint on the right to privacy. You can’t just walk into somebody’s house.” The department’s implementation strategy is headed in the direction of prevention rather than inspection.
It is planning an education campaign to inform both employers and employees of their rights under the new law. In the absence of a trade union in the sector, Seftel says the department is considering working through those places where domestic workers congregate, such as local branches of political parties, churches, clinics and women’s organisations.
Labour watchers doubt that Sadwu will work again. It’s difficult to organise the sector because there is no shop- floor.
“There is only a single employer for a single worker,” says Vavi. “It’s impossible to organise stop-orders.” This makes the prospect of self-sufficiency extremely difficult. Employment in the sector is very fluid, with the rate of dismissals and movement of staff very high.