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Cape Argus reports that according to unions for domestic workers and other civil society organisations, the deadline for domestic workers to apply retrospectively in respect of claims for injuries sustained at work was unreasonably short.
The cutoff date for such claims, as advertised by the Compensation Commissioner in the Government Gazette, is 20 November. Domestic workers were included in the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA), from November last year, in terms of a judgment by the Constitutional Court. The court also ruled that the order of constitutional validity was to have both immediate and retrospective effect from 27 April 1994. Social Economic Rights Institute (SERI) researcher Kelebogile Khunou pointed out that the public has not yet been made aware of the opportunity to remedy past injustices for domestic workers who have been injured, or dependants of those who have died. “What is needed is for the subject of the inclusion of domestic workers in COIDA and retrospective claims to be published in the media, for clear information about how to go about registering and how claiming will be handled; and, ultimately, for domestic workers to be assured that they will be assisted throughout the process,” she stated. Myrtle Witbooi of the SA Domestic Service and Allied Workers’ Union (Sadsawu) advised that no domestic workers have claimed, as the process has to start with employers registering the workers. Pinky Mashiane of the United Domestic Workers of SA said it was unrealistic for the state to give domestic workers 12 months to claim for a right that they had been deprived of for 27 years.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mthuthuzeli Ntseku at Cape Argus
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