WINDHOEK – Domestic workers constantly face unfair dismissal by their employers and this is happening because the majority of them do not know their rights, says Delphia Suxus, coordinator of the Namibia Domestic and Allied Workers Union (NDAWU).
Suxus is urging all domestic workers to join the union in order to be protected and be educated about their rights as domestic workers. Many domestic workers are being dismissed on petty grounds such as taking sugar home or watching TV in the comfort of the homes of their employers. “When domestic workers are dismissed we make sure that their interests are met if our negotiations with the employer of giving their employee their job back fails and by doing so we make sure that their leave days, notice days, as well as severance pay are paid. But from the unions side we want to go beyond that, it feels as if the Labour Act itself is not enough for the domestic workers, because the industry is big,” said the union coordinator. “Most domestic workers face problems because they are employed on verbal agreements and they have no contracts. As domestic workers they must ensure that they try to get contracts, we understand that some employers don’t want to employ domestic workers who come with contracts, because they fear that the worker know a lot about their rights which the employer neglects every time,” said Suxus, adding, “when there’s no contract its hard to help them.”
“Contracts can be collected at the union office or at the Legal Assistance Centre,” she said. “We as a union call upon all domestic workers to join the union as this is the only place were they can come if they are unfairly dismissed. Statistics show that there are 40 000 domestic workers in the Khomas Region alone and overall in Namibia there are 70 000 domestic workers. So if they all stand together and fight for their rights and for better policies I think that will make a difference. So I urge all to join,” she said. “In conclusion, what we as the union are fighting for is for the domestic workers. We want to educate our domestic workers through workshops, pamphlets and we also do so over the radio we do that, since we have noticed that most domestic works have no idea of what their rights are, they don’t know about sick leave, maternity leave, annual leave, compassionate leave and not even their working hours, so we want that improved and we are looking at their salaries also which must be improved and for the workers to have more benefits. At the moment there’s only the funeral benefit. We want them to have a pension fund, medical aid cover and a social responsibility fund for domestic workers which will support children of domestic workers to further their studies after completing Grade 12 as most can’t afford their children’s tertiary education fees.”
By John Muyamba