The Case of Sylvia Mahlangu—The Fight for Legislative Inclusion for Domestic Workers in South Africa

Abstract

An estimated 800,000 domestic workers live and work in South Africa. Domestic work is an industry dominated by Black women who are often from marginalised backgrounds. It is one of the few sources of employment accessible to poor and low-income women not only in South Africa but around the world as well. The foundations of the sector were laid during the Apartheid era, which legislated racially discriminatory laws and normalised racially discriminatory beliefs and practices. This, combined with institutionalised and patriarchal values, which often diminish the economic value of domestic labour, has created overlapping forms of oppression that still are present in the lives of domestic workers today. Sylvia Mahlangu was one such domestic worker who, while cleaning the outside windows of her employer's house, fell into their uncovered pool and drowned. As the head of her household, her family and dependents were tasked with simultaneously grieving her death as well as seeking compensation for their lost access to income. For Black, South African workers, one wage must typically support four people (Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice Dignity Group, 2023: Household Affordability Index). This piece delineates the Constitutional challenge taken on by the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI) to include domestic workers in the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) 130 of 1993, the legislation which allows employees to claim compensation for injuries sustained during the course of their employment.