*No women's rights in the cleaning sector *
*Reagoikanya Molopyane, Johannesburg, 12 September 2011*
When I joined SATAWU at beginning of April 2011 I had no idea that my
life would soon be changed by the strike action of one of the most
vulnerable sectors in South Africa.As veterans of many disputes and
strikes, Satawu have finds the cleaning sector to be one of the
hardestto work in, ranking alongside farm labourers and domestic workers
as one of the industrieswith the worst abuse in our country.
The national cleaning strike in August was one of outmost importance to
SATAWU members employed in that industry. Contrary to expert opinion our
strike gained momentum and soon spread to other provinces. Public
sympathy with the workers 'cause grew and dented the image of the
employers in that industry.
The malodorous arrogance displayed by the cleaning industry employers
with their newly found friends, the tenderpreneurs, who are profiteering
from outsourced cleaning tenders from government and other strategic
public utility's, is indicative of their intentions to maintain and
reproduce the old apartheid income inequalities amidst the deepening
crisis of poverty, mass unemployment, escalating costs of basic
necessities, fuel and transport to the detriment of the workers and the
poor.
The strike action took place during the very important month of August
2011, as we celebrated the heroic 1956 struggles by the women of our
country. In a sector that is dominated by women, it was surprising that
women in business and senior cabinet positions both nationally and
provincially have kept quiet whilst the cleaning industry continues to
be one of the most exploitative industries in the Republic of South Africa.
In my capacity as the National Spokesperson of SATAWU I used the media
to our full advantage to highlight the challenges faced by women in this
industry.Our action paid off, soon NUMSA, ANCYL, ANCWL threw their
weight behind our striking cleaning workers.
I believe the employers in the cleaning industry behave in the manner
they do because they are abusing the absence of a proper policy
framework in the industry. Employers and cleaning workers are currently
not required to contribute to a Provident or Retirement Fund anywhere,
so the majority of workers are facing difficulties when they retire.
Indeed the time has come for the development of policy framework on
standard minimum wage, within which employers' associations like BEECA &
NCCA can be contained.
I urge the Minister Oliphant to urgently initiate a broad stakeholder
consultative engagement which will herald the development of wage policy
framework that will reasonably impose basic minimum salary sensibility
to the captains of the cleaning industry. The industry is mainly
dominated by female workers and it would be an insult to our government
through the Ministry of Labour, if it does not act in the interest of
these workers by imposing a minimum wage to the employers. We want to
see The Labour Department to consider the economic as well as social
conditions when reviewing the minimum wages of contract cleaning workers.
I hope that during the next rounds of negotiations we will be fighting
for a basic salary within the industry. I am optimistic that the Labour
Ministry would have introduced apolicy framework within which SATAWU can
rightfully claim victory for workers.
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