Big change for domestic workers in South Africa
The Department of Employment and Labour has gazetted the registration of the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU), officially recognising a trade union dedicated to domestic workers.
While domestic workers have gathered under worker groups and unions, or registered under wider umbrella unions like Cosatu, the largely informal nature of the job has made it difficult for workers to operate as a collective.
Domestic worker unions that had formed in the past had struggled to attain formal recognition and lacked the power to enter into collective bargaining and official conciliation processes.
Others that succeeded in overcoming the regulatory hurdles struggled to sustain themselves and were ultimately deregistered or dissolved.
However, the DEL has now officially registered SADSAWU as a trade union, effective November 6, 2025, making it one of the only nationally recognised bodies for domestic workers.
SADSAWU was launched in KwaZulu-Natal in 2000, with the aim of mobilising, educating and ensuring that labour laws were extended to include domestic workers.
Over the years, the union has been campaigning for domestic worker rights and working alongside other representative bodies and worker groups, like United Domestic Workers of South Africa, to help protect one of the most vulnerable classes of workers in the country.
Domestic workers have always been exposed to some of the worst ills of informal employment in South Africa, with the industry as a whole being under severe strain over the last five years.
Surveys and analyses of domestic workers in the country often point to underpayment, excessive responsibility (cleaning, cooking, child care, etc), and mental and physical abuse at the hands of employers.
However, with the help of representative bodies, there have been a number of successes over the years as well.
In 2001, domestic workers were included in Unemployment Insurance for the first time. This was followed by a sectoral determination in 2002, which extended labour protections to domestic workers.
A major victory came in 2021, when domestic workers were included under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA).
This followed a Constitutional Court ruling in 2020 that declared the previous exclusion of domestic workers from the Act unconstitutional.
This amendment made domestic employees eligible for compensation for work-related injuries, diseases, or death.
This was followed by another big change for domestic workers in 2022, when these employees qualified for the full National Minimum Wage for the first time.
In 2023, the government included domestic workers as formal employees, bringing them in line with national regulations around the UIF and Compensation Fund—and all the admin that comes with it.
Burden falls on employers
Notably, the push for more representation, coverage and protection for domestic workers has not abated.
Another representative union, the Progressive Domestic Workers Union of South Africa, is currently pushing for domestic workers to qualify for pensions in South Africa.
Under this plan, employers would be expected to pay about 5% towards a domestic worker’s pension fund. The group is in the early stages of the idea, with many policy and regulatory processes needed to support the vision.
However, the push from representative groups highlights one of the biggest challenges for domestic workers in South Africa: employer support.
Most employers still don’t see themselves in a formal position when hiring a domestic worker in South Africa, and the informality of many hires remains a problem.
It is not uncommon for one domestic worker to be employed by multiple households, making the administration and management of the group complex and onerous.
Alongside financial pressure, emigration, and the broader economic downturn over the last decade, domestic worker jobs have been declining.
At the end of 2019, South Africa had around 1 million domestic workers employed. The latest employment stats show a 17% decline to about 850,000 positions.
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