Timeslive reports that according to unionists, many foreign nationals who are employed as domestic workers in SA are underpaid and coerced into working long hours.  

In extreme cases‚ they even have their identity documents withheld‚ according to Sizwe Pamla‚ spokesperson for labour federation Cosatu.  The Cosatu-aligned SA Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (Sadsawu) on Tuesday encouraged cleaners‚ including foreigners‚ to resist exploitation by their employers.  “(It is common for) employers looking for domestic workers to ask the person if she is a South African.  If she is a South African‚ they don’t take her.  They say South Africans think that they are smart.  These employers want migrant workers‚ not because they love them‚ but because they will be able to pay a low wage‚” said the union’s Eunice Dladla.  She noted that domestic workers from other parts of the continent were afraid to seek help‚ but said the union was willing to assist them.  Unfair working hours is the most common complaint the union receives.  Pamla said Cosatu was “appalled by a spike in the incidents of abuse of domestic workers in South Africa.”

• Read this report by Penwell Dlamini in full at Timeslive
• Read too, Four Eastern Cape cleaners accuse boss of cleaning company of sexual abuse, at Timeslive

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page