ISSN 2039-2117 (online) ISSN 2039-9340 (print) Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences MCSER Publishing, Rome-Italy Vol 5 No 10 June 2014 672 Termination of Domestic Workers’ Employment: Unfair Labour Practice Re-visited Kola O. Odeku Faculty of Management and Law, School of Law, University of Limpopo, South Africa Email: kooacademics@gmail.com Doi:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n10p672 Abstract This paper elucidates that termination of a domestic worker by an employer is not wrong however, the paper accentuates that the termination must strictly follow due process and comply fully with the procedure and the enabling laws governing and regulating labour relations. The paper looks at the conditions and situations of domestic workers in relation to how their employments are being terminated by the employers without due regard for the workers and the law. It raises the importance of sensitising the workers in this sector about their rights in order not be unfairly terminated and dismissed by the employers. It highlights available remedies that are available to a wrongfully dismissed worker. Keywords: Domestic workers, Unfair Labour Practice, Vulnerability, Invisibility, Remedies, Justice. 1. Introduction In South Africa, those who earn their wages by providing domestic and household services to others are well protected under the constitution and the labour law (Gaitskel et al. 1983). They are described as “housekeepers, gardeners, and watchpersons, care givers and so on in private households in exchange for remuneration and/or lodging and board.” (Ramirez-Machado, 2003). Even though they remain hidden and invisible to society, the number of people joining this workforce keeps increasing on a daily basis (Sexwale, 1994). The conditions under which they work and perform their labour services are, in most cases, very degrading and appalling (Mantouvalou, 2006). Ramirez-Machado (2003) points out that “domestic workers suffer from poor working conditions and that their isolation makes difficult some kind of organization which would allow them to improve their condition.” This is the reason why labour law protection is so important for this category of workers. More importantly, the invisibility aspect of the work makes the employers thrive in their exploitations and abuses of domestic workers (Mashburn-Myrick, 2012). Being live-in domestic workers makes the situation worse as they are made even more invisible to the society but more susceptible to abuse by the employer. (Glantz, 2005). Glantz (2005) indicates that “its abusive and exploitative nature has prompted many authors to label domestic service as ‘anachronistic’ and/or ‘premodern’ in this age of oft-lauded modernization and globalization.” However, it is pertinent to point out that domestic work is a form of employment recognised under the law, hence, domestic workers are entitled to enjoy the protective mechanisms enshrined in the law (Fourie, 2008). More importantly, the promulgation of the Sectoral Determination 7 (SD7) under sections 51-58 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, No. 75 of 1997 (BCEA) strengthens the protection accorded domestic workers as they are considered vulnerable people (Smit and Fourie, 2010). Commenting on the precarious and vulnerable situations of domestic workers Fourie (2008) writes “these workers are often paid for results rather than time. Their vulnerability is linked in many instances to the absence of an employment relationship or the existence of a flimsy one. Most of these workers are unskilled or work in sectors with limited trade union organisation and limited coverage by collective bargaining, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation. They should, in theory, have the protection of current South African labour legislation, but in practice the unusual circumstances of their employment render the enforcement of their rights problematic. The majority of non- standard workers in South Africa are those previously disadvantaged by the apartheid regime, compromising women and unskilled black workers. The exclusion of these workers from labour legislation can be seen as discrimination, which is prohibited by almost all labour legislation in South Africa. This contribution illustrates how the concept of indirect discrimination can be an important tool used to provide labour protection to these workers.” Employers could terminate any domestic workers at will based on any flimsy reasons or excuses without considering the effects and implications such termination will have on the worker (Martins, 2009). In this sector, existing literature has shown that the culture of unfair dismissal is the norm rather than the exception (Ewing, 1989). Employers perpetrate unfair labour practices against domestic workers with impunity based on the arrogant belief and conviction that