Lockdown leaves domestic workers out in the cold

For 12 days, domestic workers have had to stay home and hold thumbs as their employers decide whether they will pay them during the lockdown period or not.

For the next nine days of lockdown, it’s safe to say that the country’s over one million domestic workers will be counting coins and hoping for life to return to normal, at the mercy of their employers.

Domestic workers are not recognised as an essential industry while South Africa prepared for lockdown, with authorities merely advising that domestic workers comply with regulations and stay home.

The ideal scenario for domestic workers would be similar to that of Sarah, a domestic worker from Johannesburg, whose regular employers told her not to come to work, but still pay her on a regular basis, while another family she works for even pay her extra for food and other necessities.

While Sarah juggles looking after her own grandchildren, she can rest easy that her employers have covered her financially until normal life resumes.

She did point to shoddy service delivery at her home in Ikageng Extension 9, saying that municipalities neglected to give residents in the relatively new settlement trolley bins to throw their rubbish into. She said now that everyone is home, rubbish is being dumped close to her home, which could pose potential health risks for residents, especially young children, often seen playing near these areas.

While she gets to put a meal on the table at the end of each day, for others, an initiative launched by digital domestic worker platform SweepSouth will be their saving grace.

SweepSouth, which connects domestic workers and employees, announced a fund launched to aid domestic workers by providing food and other basic essentials during lockdown.

According to SweepSouth co-founder and CEO Aisha Pandor, at least R4 million per month will be needed to ensure that those registered with SweepSouth and their families will be able to eat and meet day-to-day living costs.

“Our research suggests that most domestic workers (over 70%) are single mothers, and that many (over 80%) are primary breadwinners. Our annual survey shows that domestic workers spend on average R1,100 on monthly groceries. If these workers aren’t paid during the lockdown, they face worsening poverty and mounting debt,” Pandor said.

Those who opted to work through an official platform such as SweepSouth, referred to as SweepStars, will be able to feed themselves and their families, with the help of corporate funding.

The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, who invested in SweepSouth last year, has already contributed R6 million. This allows SweepSouth to provide weekly “top-ups” of up to R450 during the lockdown.

The platform aims to raise R12 million to help SweepStars survive for at least three months, as their financial difficulties “will extend far beyond the 21-day lockdown,” Pandor explained.

And SweepSouth customers have taken up the challenge, with over 40% of them pledging to continue supporting SweepSouth, and contributing over R100,000 so far.

But what about the unlucky ones?

Department of mercantile law at the University of Pretoria, Professor Monray Botha, explains that domestic workers who are not registered, do not benefit from the Unemployment and Insurance Fund (UIF), and are also not protected in terms of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (Coida).

This presents a problem for everyday life, but even more so for those who may have contracted Covid-19 before lockdown.

Botha said that the novel coronavirus pandemic can be considered a “force majeure, and thus a domestic worker would not have had control over the event happening or not.”

For unregistered workers, their best bet is hoping for their employers to have compassion to support them through this difficult time.

“From a rational and reasonable and fair perceptive these workers should be paid in full,” Botha said, but explained that if this does not happen, the suspension of many legal avenues such as the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) poses a further challenge.

She added that the plight of vulnerable, unprotected workers, especially during lockdown, is an oversight on government and the Department of Labour’s part, who Botha believes should have extended protection to these workers.

However, this also presents a potential opportunity for roleplayers to change employment legislation and requirements for domestic workers, such as making UIF registration compulsory, and employers that fail to do so will face penalties.

Domestic workers will find themselves in deep water should the lockdown be extended. They face potentially missing out on more wages, and are trapped in their own homes with no control over the injustices ruling their lives.

“It is sad that in a country with some of the most sophisticated labour legislation and most probably one of the best Constitutions in the world that precarious workers such as domestic workers are still left in the cold,” Botha lamented.

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