Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana on Wednesday urged workers to lodge complaints at their nearest labour office of any unlawful treatment by employers.
Mdladlana was responding to weekend media reports alleging that domestic workers at Parliamentary residence Acacia Park Village in Goodwood, Cape Town, were being paid below the stipulated minimum wage and not registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
On Sunday the Cape Argus published an article alleging that domestic workers were being forced by some MPs who earn an annual package in the region of R714 618 to perform duties not within their job description.
One woman, who works for an MP in the parliamentary village and who asked not to be named, claimed she had to give her employer a massage on weekends when she was supposed to be off and was not paid for it.
She said she could not refuse in case she was fired. "They are big (powerful) people and can make my life miserable if I don't do as they say," she said. " "They are exploiting us and we don't know who to speak to because we don't belong to a union so we just don't talk about it.”
Mdladlana condemned such transgressions, particularly by people who are supposed to be the custodians of law, and vowed that the department would conduct investigations at the village to verify such allegations".
"While the law must take its course against anyone found to be non-compliant with it, I would however urge people not to generalise when reporting these cases so as to allow the department to carry out its inspections effectively," he said in a statement.
Labour inspectors have in the past swooped on the village and several non-complying domestic employers were dealt with.
Issued by: Department of Labour
8 July 2009
Source: SAPA
