Pretoria News reports that domestic workers, still waiting for the Constitutional Court to confirm a high court ruling regarding their rights to claim for injury or illness while on duty, are not yet covered for coronavirus infection while at work.
Pinky Mashiane, president of United Domestic Workers of SA, said domestic workers remained extremely vulnerable as there were presently no official measures in place to protect them. She advised as follows: “Some employers will pay their domestic workers’ medical bills if they get infected, but others are expected to dispute that they had contracted the virus while on duty. This is especially in light of them having to travel on public transport to work.” Mashiane urged employers to place their domestic workers on paid leave during the lockdown period. She noted that: “Workers depend on their jobs to provide for their families. They obviously cannot work from home and many are experiencing uncertainty about their jobs.” Those whose employers have registered them for UIF benefits will be able to claim if they lose out on their salaries. But Mashiane said the problem was that many employers had not yet registered their workers. The organisation and other unions have approached the Department of Employment and Labour to ask that a special fund be made available to assist such people financially if they were not paid during this time.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Zelda Venter at Pretoria News
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