The Department of Labour (DoL) and all its entities need to ensure that domestic and farm workers benefit from their delivery programmes, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Labour, Ms Lumka Yengeni, has said.
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) was appearing before the Committee to brief it on its strategic plan and annual performance plan. The UIF said registering domestic workers with the fund is still a challenge.
Ms Yengeni said the Committee is impressed that DoL and the UIF pay domestic workers when they complain about non-payment, and that the fund also follows up on non-compliant employers.
“Employers and the rich exploit people without having to account for their transgressions. This is an area that the UIF, despite improvements and the good work, needs to tighten,” Ms Yengeni said.
She said poverty alleviation, closing the wealth gap and addressing inequality require that the country pulls in one direction and, most importantly, that employers and employees comply with legislation. “Despite their meagre salaries, domestic and farm workers are still denied the benefits they are entitled to. These transgressions necessitate and validate the need for a strictly monitored national minimum wage once it had been implemented,” she said.
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