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Concerns have been raised about domestic workers’ ability to report injuries at work after regulations were introduced for their protection.
Domestic workers were brought under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (Coida) in 2023, extending protection to those employed in private households.
However, labour experts and unions have told Sowetan that many of the workers still struggled to raise alarm, particularly those in isolated areas, where oversight is limited.
Gloria Kente, secretary-general of the SA Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (Sadsawu), said they were still struggling with the implementation of the Coida.
“We’re pushing the department of [employment and] labour to do the inspections to make sure employers are paying into the Coida fund so that when the workers get injured, they can claim the money,” she said.
“We’ve been fighting this for a long time. That is why we are marching over the weekend because we’re not being heard.”
Kente said they will be visiting labour department offices in Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg to hand over their memorandum regarding the matter.
“There’s no compliance; there’s no implementation,” she said.
Her comments come after the National Employers’ Association of SA (Neasa) urged businesses to review their workforce to ensure all employees who are now covered by Coida are properly accounted for.
It also advised that all employees be properly included in return-of-earnings submissions.
Under the new regulations, employees who are injured or fall ill as a result of working conditions will receive stronger support in efforts to get them to return to work, and employers will also have more responsibility with regard to providing rehabilitation.
The amendment focuses on who is covered, how benefits are calculated, how compliance is enforced, and what employers are expected to do when employees are injured or fall ill.
According to Neasa, the definition of who qualifies for Coida protection has been significantly broadened, adding that categories now cover domestic workers, fixed-term, part-time, and seasonal employees.
Labour and unemployment expert Plaatjie Mashego said the department still had issues in implementing policies. He told Sowetan that for some domestic workers, it becomes a problem to raise the alarm even though there are abuses.
“The policies are well and good, make no mistake, but it is up until there’s some form of a clear direction on how it’s going to be implemented,” he said.
“Are we going to have a central office where people who have complaints can call so that they have a dedicated line? We have a serious problem with the department of labour with some of the old implementations having not been taken on.”
Due to the lack of inspectors, Mashego said the department was struggling with the employment of foreigners without documentation.
“They [the department] have not done their job.
“It has created a very serious concern regarding a series of developments. At the level of implementation, do we have the capacity? How do you begin to come with inspectors in each home unless there is a complaint that has come forward?”
Cosatu spokesperson Zanele Sabela said that often domestic workers did not know they could claim.
“The regulation empowers inspectors to check if employers are following the law, but the property owners can still deny them entry; they still have that right,” she said.
She said employers could also go against a statement made by the worker that they were injured at work.
The department of labour previously told Sowetan that with regard to Coida and the Unemployment Insurance Fund, there was non-compliance in various sectors, such as wholesale and retail as well as food and beverages.
This was after a blitz revealed under-declarations, underpayments of contributions, and non-submission of returns of earnings. The department said between April and December last year, the department did more than 5,000 blitzes in Gauteng.
In their statement, Neasa told businesses that Coida’s definition of an accident has been expanded to include injuries sustained during work-related training activities, as well as injuries during travel to or from work where employer-provided transport is used.
Under the new regulation, the period for lodging a claim with the fund has been extended from 12 months to three years from the date of the accident.
Other changes include the introduction of a formal rehabilitation and reintegration framework.
“Coida now recognises clinical, vocational, and social rehabilitation – covering physical and psychological recovery, assistive devices, and structured support to return to work," it said.
Neasa said employers were expected to participate in the process and may be required to implement return-to-work programmes for employees with work-related injuries or occupational diseases.
Further amendments to Coida were expected from April 1. –Additional reporting by Michelle Banda.
Sowetan