Publications
We believe in the power of research to more deeply understand the complexities of the domestic work sector, determine advocacy priorities, and promote rights education and compliance.
Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance, or our sister organisation, Dahlak Africa, has led or been part of the publications below, including research reports and guidelines on labour rights.
The Persistence of Private Power:
A qualitative survey of human rights violations against live-in domestic workers in South Africa.
Live-in domestic workers in South Africa frequently find themselves in the intractable position of having to forego their rights in order to retain their jobs. The unique conflation of the home and workplace in the domestic sector frequently leads to the entanglement of workplace rights and personal freedoms.
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This study provides a qualitative exploration of the broader constitutional and human rights violations of domestic workers who live on their employer’s premises. The research contributes to the understanding of intersectional discrimination experienced by domestic workers and sheds light on indignities that frequently rise to the level of rights violations but are invisible because of the private spaces in which they occur.
This study was conducted by Izwi, with support from the Solidarity Center.
Isolated and Vulnerable:
The Story of SA's Domestic Workers & GBV.
This qualitative study by the Hlanganisa Community Fund, with assistance from Izwi, explores the incidence of harassement and violence against domestic workers in the workplace. It includes a summary of findings from interviews with and surveys of workers, detailing the types of abuse experienced. It also addresses abuse by the police when reporting, and looks at the implementation of international & national protections, support available from civil society and labour unions, and recommendations.
Victory is not Enough:
Fighting for Meaningful Access to Wage Support for South Africa’s Domestic Workers During the Covid-19 Pandemic
In April 2020, several associations of vulnerable workers in South Africa launched an urgent court case to challenge the Department of Employment and Labour (DoEL) on the de facto exclusion of mass numbers of vulnerable workers, including domestic workers, from Covid-19 wage support payments. Their ultimate success has become an important building block in creating a safety net of social protections for domestic workers. It has also shed light on why too often legal victories do not translate into meaningful change for workers.
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This article by Izwi, p. 111-120, recounts the civil society efforts to push the DoEL to include unregistered domestic workers in the wage support payments, as well as the practical outcomes and challenges faced once inclusion was granted.
Migrant Domestic Workers in the SADC Region:
Intersecting decent work with safe, orderly, and regular migration
Commissioned by the ILO's South African Migration Management Programme, this study reports on migrant domestic workers in the sixteen countries of the Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region. It includes relevant statistics based on UN and national migration and labour data, a review of the migration policy environment, and details of regional and national labour regulations as impacting domestic workers and migrants. It also addresses recruitment and trafficking, social protection status, forms of worker mobilisation, and recommendations for policy and research. The project was carried out by Social Surveys Africa. Izwi's co-founder Amy Tekie was a member of the core research team.
Employing a Domestic Worker:
A Legal and Practical Guide
This user-friendly guide has been written for employers of domestic workers in South Africa. The guide informs employers of domestic workers of their rights and obligations in the employment relationship, provides practical advice towards creating a healthy working environment and supports them to improve their employment practices.
This guide, developed by SERI-SA & Izwi, follows the Domestic Workers’ Rights: A Legal and Practical Guide, a guide developed for domestic workers, published in 2018.
Enforcement of Workers' Rights:
Negative experiences of low-wage, precarious workers with the CCMA, Department of Employment & Labour, and Sheriff of the Court
Commissioned by the Solidarity Centre and Dahlak Africa, with research conducted by Beneficial Technologies, this report investigates negative experiences of low wage workers who approached the Department of Employment and Labour (DoEL), the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and the Sheriff of the Court for the enforcement of their workers’ rights. The project arose out of the work of the One Wage Campaign which campaigned for the inclusion of domestic and farm workers in the National Minimum Wage. Workers repeatedly expressed frustration that even when policies were enacted to protect their rights, those rights were difficult to enforce. The research question was: What problems do low wage, precarious workers experience when they attempt to access the enforcement services of the DoEL, CCMA and Sheriff of the Court? The report summarises qualitative findings and includes recommendations for improving service to vulnerable workers.
Domestic Workers Pay a Heavy Price for Employers' Non-compliance with Labour Law
A survey of domestic workers during Covid-19 lockdown
While not formally published, this emergency research on the situation of domestic workers was conducted during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic to inform advocacy efforts. Izwi surveyed 600 domestic workers, mostly in the Gauteng region, on their work status, wages, UIF registration, and Covid-related challenges. Research was conducted by Izwi.