History of South African Domestic Worker Labour Activism
1955: The Congress of South African Trade Unions is established. (COSATU)
1956: Women protest Pass Laws, specifically for Domestic Workers
1960: The government bans political organisations.
1964: Black women are forced to carry passes.
1973: Trade union strikes begin as a powerful venue for political resistance and organising.
1976: The Soweto student uprising marks a critical moment of state violence against youth.
1980: Domestic workers begin organizing around education and improved working conditions in Cape Town.
1983: The United Democratic Front (UDF) is formed to oppose state practices of separate government while violence escalate
throughout South Africa.
1985: A State of Emergency is declared after anti-apartheid demonstrators in Cape Town (Langa) are killed.
1986: SADWU, the South African Domestic Workers Union is formed and begins more progressive efforts to unionize domestic
workers and organise against apartheid.
1990: The Land Acts, Group Areas Act, and Population Registration Act of 1950 are repealed. Convention for the Democratic South
Africa begins. The first conference on Women and Gender in Southern Africa is held.
1992: The Women's National Coalition is launched to mandate gender representation in the upcoming process of democratic
negotiations.
1993: An interim democratic constitution is adopted. The Basic Conditions of Employment Act is passed, which protects domestic
workers in formal labour legislation.
1994: April, 16th. The first national democratic elections are held after 46 years of apartheid rule. Nelson Mandela of the ANC is
elected President by a vast majority of the population.
1996: The new Constitution is adopted with a comprehensive Bill of Rights and an ANC-led reconstruction and Development
Programme. The Labour Relations Act is passed to legalize the unionisation of domestic workers. SADWU disbands as a
result of substantial organisational challenges.
1997: The Basic Conditions of Employment Act is revised to include domestic workers for the first time in history. The same year,
the Growth Employment and Redistribution Strategy replaces the RDP. Overall job losses total half a million by 1999.
1999: The second democratic elections take place. Thabo Mbeki is elected President.
2000: SADSAWU, the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union is formed.
2001: Domestic workers are included in Unemployment Insurance for the first time.
2002: Sectoral Determination No. 7 is passed, extending labour protections for domestic workers.
2006: SADSAWU participates with other domestic worker unions and allies in an international conference in Amsterdam,
Netherlands to begin lobbying efforts to obtain an international resolution that would protect the labour rights of domestic
workers worldwide. The group adopts the slogan, "Domestic Work is Decent Work."
2010: Domestic worker labour rights are at the center of the agenda for the 99th Labor Conference of the International Labour
Organization, a subsidiary of the United Nations. SADSAWU representatives are present and involved in negotiations.
2011: Convention 189 is adopted by those present at the 1ooth Labour Conference of the International Labour Organization,
establishing the first set of global standard designed to extend labour protections for domestic workers.
Information for this timeline was adapted in large part from Domestic Democracy: At Home in South Africa, by Jennifer N. Fish and the South African Department of Labour website. Images courtesy of Jennifer N. Fish.
1956: Women protest Pass Laws, specifically for Domestic Workers
1960: The government bans political organisations.
1964: Black women are forced to carry passes.
1973: Trade union strikes begin as a powerful venue for political resistance and organising.
1976: The Soweto student uprising marks a critical moment of state violence against youth.
1980: Domestic workers begin organizing around education and improved working conditions in Cape Town.
1983: The United Democratic Front (UDF) is formed to oppose state practices of separate government while violence escalate
throughout South Africa.
1985: A State of Emergency is declared after anti-apartheid demonstrators in Cape Town (Langa) are killed.
1986: SADWU, the South African Domestic Workers Union is formed and begins more progressive efforts to unionize domestic
workers and organise against apartheid.
1990: The Land Acts, Group Areas Act, and Population Registration Act of 1950 are repealed. Convention for the Democratic South
Africa begins. The first conference on Women and Gender in Southern Africa is held.
1992: The Women's National Coalition is launched to mandate gender representation in the upcoming process of democratic
negotiations.
1993: An interim democratic constitution is adopted. The Basic Conditions of Employment Act is passed, which protects domestic
workers in formal labour legislation.
1994: April, 16th. The first national democratic elections are held after 46 years of apartheid rule. Nelson Mandela of the ANC is
elected President by a vast majority of the population.
1996: The new Constitution is adopted with a comprehensive Bill of Rights and an ANC-led reconstruction and Development
Programme. The Labour Relations Act is passed to legalize the unionisation of domestic workers. SADWU disbands as a
result of substantial organisational challenges.
1997: The Basic Conditions of Employment Act is revised to include domestic workers for the first time in history. The same year,
the Growth Employment and Redistribution Strategy replaces the RDP. Overall job losses total half a million by 1999.
1999: The second democratic elections take place. Thabo Mbeki is elected President.
2000: SADSAWU, the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union is formed.
2001: Domestic workers are included in Unemployment Insurance for the first time.
2002: Sectoral Determination No. 7 is passed, extending labour protections for domestic workers.
2006: SADSAWU participates with other domestic worker unions and allies in an international conference in Amsterdam,
Netherlands to begin lobbying efforts to obtain an international resolution that would protect the labour rights of domestic
workers worldwide. The group adopts the slogan, "Domestic Work is Decent Work."
2010: Domestic worker labour rights are at the center of the agenda for the 99th Labor Conference of the International Labour
Organization, a subsidiary of the United Nations. SADSAWU representatives are present and involved in negotiations.
2011: Convention 189 is adopted by those present at the 1ooth Labour Conference of the International Labour Organization,
establishing the first set of global standard designed to extend labour protections for domestic workers.
Information for this timeline was adapted in large part from Domestic Democracy: At Home in South Africa, by Jennifer N. Fish and the South African Department of Labour website. Images courtesy of Jennifer N. Fish.
