AT the Domestic Watch meeting held at Sasol Garage, Suideroord, on Tuesday May 10, domestic workers learnt all about not accepting stolen goods, even if it sounds too good to be true.
Martin Barber (SOS Pretec Sure) spoke about stolen goods and counterfeit products, informing the domestic workers how the counterfeit goods often closely or almost identically look like the original product that is being copied and sold as the original product. “If the price is considerably or markedly less than the normal price of something you would buy, be suspicious. Millions of Rands are made from counterfeit goods and typical products could be DVDs, CDs, coins and R200 notes.”
He went on to say how important it is to report any stolen goods you come across, to the police. “If a family member of where you are employed suddenly has clothes, electronic equipment or a lot of money to spend and you know they are not permanently employed or that the income they get from their work is not going to allow them to spend money on luxury goods, start asking questions,” Barber added.
Two ER24 paramedics also came along to the meeting to share safety tips and chatted about burns from fires. “With winter around the corner you need to be very cautious around open fires, heaters and the like,” said Faheem Essop, ER24 paramedic.
Michelle Pelser, coordinator of Domestic Watch informed the domestics about the challenges in Naturena, Meredale and surrounding areas, where domestics are being tricked into opening gates and doors for criminals. “They will act very friendly and are extremely convincing. Don’t open up for anyone, until you yourself have phoned your employer to see if they should be coming onto the property. If you feel threatened and sense the people to be criminals, dial 112 on your cellphone for help. As long as your phone has a SIM card you can still call 112 even if you don’t have any airtime,” said Pelser.
The next meeting to be held at Sasol Columbine Avenue, Suideroord, will be on Tuesday, June 14 at 10:00. For more information call Michelle on 084 292 9144.
