Department of Employment and Labour Deputy Director: Advocacy and Stakeholder Relations Caroline Kwetepane has called on domestic workers who continue to be underpaid below the national minimum wage (NMW) to report such violations at the Department’s offices.

Kwetepane said three years since the introduction of the National Minimum Wage employers were still exploiting and violating the law by underpaying domestic workers. She said in addition to being underpaid domestic workers were still not given contracts of employment, not handed payslips, not registered for injuries on duty, not registered for Unemployment Insurance Fund benefits and not extended leave benefits among violations.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the NMW Act of 2018 which came into effect on 1 January 2019. The introduction of the policy intervention was in line with the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention(s) to improve the living standards of the vulnerable domestic workers. When it was introduced in 2019 the NMW was fixed at a level of R20 per hour.

Since then it has increased. Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi announced that the National Minimum Wage has been reviewed and adjusted from R21,69 (2021) to R23,19 for each ordinary hour worked for the year 2022 with effect from 01 March 2022.

In terms of the NMW Act of 2018, the policy framework is binding law of the country and a floor level below which no employee should be paid. It is also illegal and an unfair labour practice for an employer to unilaterally alter hours of work or other conditions of employment in implementing the NMW. The NMW is the amount payable for the ordinary hours of work and does not include payment of allowances (such as transport, tools, food or accommodation) payments in kind (board or lodging), tips, bonuses and gifts.

Kwetepane was speaking during the Department’s Domestic Worker seminar held at the weekend at Atteridgeville Community Hall near Pretoria. The workshop is part of the department’s Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) branch advocacy programme to educate stakeholders on labour laws and promote compliance.

The theme of the seminar was: "Paying the National Minimum Wage is the Right Thing to Do".

The programme focused on compliance with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), Sectoral Determination, including the National Minimum Wage Act, compliance with the Unemployment Insurance Fund, and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases and the referral of disputes to the CCMA.

CCMA Commissioner Matome Selapisa said compliance in the sector was key. Selapisa said NMW is law and must be paid, noting that exemptions can be applied for if employers qualify.

According to Selapisa the CCMA has since April 2022 adjudicated over 538 cases related to the implementation of NMW and Basic Conditions of Employment Act in the Domestic Worker sector. He said these related to application(s) to make a compliance order an arbitration award, dismissal for operational reasons related to the NMW Act, claims for failure to pay any amount owing, disputes relating to compliance orders, claim for failure to pay any amount owing in terms of the NMW Act, request to make a written undertaking an arbitration award, unilateral changes to terms and conditions of employment and any other dismissal related to NMW.

In the previous period from April 2021 to 31 March 2022 the CCMA adjudicated over 1215 cases in the Domestic Worker sector, Selapisa said. He also encouraged domestic workers to report their grievances relating to the NMW with the CCMA

In terms of BCEA matters regarding non-payment can be referred directly to CCMA if earning below the Ministerial threshold of R224　080,48 per annum.

The term domestic work means work performed in or for a household or households, they also include a gardener, a person employed by a household as a driver, and a person who takes care of children, the aged, the sick, the frail or the disabled.

The Department through the Inspection and Enforcement Services branch regularly conducts inspections to employers operating in the Domestic Workers Sector and has found that many are found wanting when it comes to compliance with labour legislation.

Today’s seminar follows similar ones held in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo Province. The seminars are targeted at the workers, employers, employer organisations and trade unions.