Court victory for domestic workers
Sylvia’s fight for compensation after the death of her mother has led to a landmark ruling in favour of domestic workers
SHE remembers it as if it happened yesterday – that day almost seven years ago when her life changed forever.
Sylvia Mahlangu’s phone rang and the moment she answered it, her blood ran cold. It was the man who employed her mother, Maria Mahlangu, and she could hear from the tone of his voice that it was bad news.
There’d been an accident. “Your mom fell into the pool and she died,” he said.
Sylvia (then 24) knew exactly which pool he was talking about. It was the one at the house in Faerie Glen, Pretoria, where Maria (43) had worked for 22 years as a domestic worker.
“I was so shocked I dropped the phone and they had to call again,” she recalls.
Sylvia, an only child, was devastated. But on top of dealing with her grief, another nasty surprise lay in store for her.
At the time of her death Maria had been the family’s only breadwinner, so her R2 500 salary had to stretch far to support not only herself but also her unemployed daughter and Sylvia’s son, Vus’muzi (then 5).
When Sylvia approached the department of labour to claim worker’s compensation she was told because domestic workers in private households weren’t defined as employees her mother didn’t qualify.
It seemed unfathomable to her that her mother, having been a loyal employee of the same family for more than two decades, wasn’t covered. “This money would at least have helped me to support my family,” Sylvia says.
Despite knowing little about the law,
Sylvia felt what was happening was cruelly unjust, so she decided to fight it. And although it took seven years for the legal wheels to turn, she’s finally scored a victory for her mother and the more than 1,1 million domestic workers in private households.
In May this year, the high court in Pretoria declared the exclusion of domestic workers from the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act of 1993 unconstitutional and invalid.
And last month, the same court ruled the declaration of invalidity must be applied “retrospectively”. This means that not only will Maria’s daughter receive much-needed compensation but so would the families of other domestic workers who’d been injured or had died at work before the order was granted.
It’s now up to the Constitutional Court to confirm these two orders – then Sylvia will finally get the money she believes is owed to her.
SYLVIA still can’t believe she’s at the heart of this landmark ruling. But she’s quick to point out it wouldn’t have happened without the help of the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union.
She says the organisation’s co-founder, Pinky Mashiane, was with her every step of the way.
“There were times I didn’t even have money to go anywhere while we were seeking help but she’d tell me I shouldn’t worry about it, she’d make a plan,” the young mother says, chatting to us in her one-room home in Mamelodi, Pretoria.
Not a day goes by without Sylvia thinking of her mother.
“She was very sweet, very patient, and wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
At the time of Maria’s death, Sylvia was living in Mpumalanga with her son.
It took her a few hours to get to Pretoria. When she arrived, she found a mortuary vehicle parked outside the home of her mom’s employers, with Maria’s body already loaded inside.
“I remember touching her hand just to feel her. She was really gone,” Sylvia says. “I cried until I was too weak to cry.”
The last time she heard from her mom’s employers was shortly after the funeral.
“They called and said I should come and work for them but I said I couldn’t.”
Sylvia says she doesn’t have closure because she still hasn’t seen her mom’s post-mortem report. She claims the detective who was investigating her mom’s case hasn’t been forthcoming with details.
“I’m still not satisfied with the explanation of how my mom died.”
In light of the fact that her mother couldn’t swim, she can’t understand why the pool wasn’t covered or fenced.
“The husband (Maria’s employer) says he was vacuuming leaves outside and my mom was mopping in front of the swimming pool,” says Sylvia.
“And then he went to put the [vacuum] machine in the garage and when he came back, he saw her floating in the pool.” Sylvia says the towel Maria was covered in was stained with blood.
“Why was she bleeding? I have many questions.”
Sylvia was only two when her mom took the job with the family. Maria was a dedicated employee who helped the couple raise
their kids, she says.
“She’d start work at 7am and would wait for them to finish their supper so she could wash the dishes. She loved her job and held onto it even though it was tough.”
At the end of every month Maria would travel to Mpumalanga to spend the weekend with her daughter and grandson.
“I can still smell her perfume and feel her presence,” Sylvia says.
ALTHOUGH the past few years haven’t been easy, Sylvia says she felt a duty to fight.
“There were times I felt despondent,” she admits. “I had to constantly remind myself that I wasn’t doing this just for me but for the many domestic workers out there.”
Sylvia is delighted she’s been able to make a difference.
“Now domestic workers will be taken seriously,” she says.
Although she feels vindicated, she says no amount of money will fill the gap left by the death of her mom.
“The compensation won’t bring her back, but it’ll change my life a bit.”
Sylvia recently moved to Pretoria where she’s a casual worker at a supermarket.
She says she’d like to study further so she can get a better job.
In addition to Vus’muzi (now 12), she has another son, Melikhaya (1).
“I think my mom would be proud of me,” Sylvia says.
She can still feel Maria’s presence and often dreams about her.
“In one dream, she told me that all will be well,” she says. “And I believe it.”
‘Why was she bleeding? I have many questions’