WHEN it was announced that Covid-19 had hit South Africa, Nothando Shezi* was told to stay home from the first week of March while her employers assessed the situation.
“At month end I got paid for the one day I worked but then I was told I did not have a job to come back to,” she says.
The domestic worker had been working for two Johannesburg North families two days a week for the past year.
To supplement her income, Nothando (31) also found employment through SweepSouth on her free days. But now she is unable to go out and earn a living.
By law, employees who perform parttime or full-time domestic work in the home of their employers need to be registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) if they work more than 24 hours a month.
Yet Nothando was told she wasn’t registered for UIF by any of her employers. “And there is nothing they can do for me,” she says.
Because she doesn’t qualify to claim from the UIF, she doesn’t qualify for the Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme set up by government to help struggling workers who lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
The mother of three isn’t sure how she’ll make it through the lockdown.
“We’ve been living off help from relatives, but it’s not enough and I haven’t even paid rent this month,” she says.
Domestic workers will only be allowed to go back to work when the lockdown restrictions are eased to level 2, leaving many like Nothando wondering just how they’ll survive.
In a survey conducted last month by Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance, it was found that only 38% of 600 respondents are being paid full wages.
ãã®èšäºã¯ Drum English ã® 21 May 2020 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã9,000 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã ?  ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
ãã®èšäºã¯ Drum English ã® 21 May 2020 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã9,000 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã? ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
Homegrown Heroes
Drum speaks to two volunteers in the Covid-19 vaccine trial and the professor heading the team in Africa
The Big Clean Up
Whenever a Covid-19 case is confirmed at a shop, they call in the deep-cleaners. We find out exactly how they disinfect stores and supermarkets
I'm Back & Better!
Babes Wodumo shares what sheâs been up to in lockdown â and thereâs some new music on the horizon
Not An Easy Ride
Taxi commuters and industry players tell DRUM whatâs driving them to defy lockdown rules
Mam' Mary Bows Out
Iconic actress Mary Twala is fondly remembered by friends and family for her humour and talent
âThey Lived For Each Other'
This Cape Town teenâs parents died from Covid-19 on the same day. Now sheâs alone and battling the virus too
Stranger Than Fiction
For actor Mangaliso Ngema and his daughter Khosi Ngema, her role in Blood & Water was like watching their familyâs real-life story unfold
I Was Raped By A Pastor
His accusations against a well-known man of the cloth turned an Eastern Cape manâs life into turmoil but now more victims have spoken out
My Fight With Life And Death
More Covid-19 patients, too few beds and staff, constant sanitising and personal fears â a Western Cape doctor shares her experience
I AM ENOUGH
Ten years after being set alight, Thembi Maphanga is living life to the fullest