- Street Trade in eThekwini: Your Rights (December 2022)
This Guide explains the rights of informal traders and the laws and policies that protect them, and gives informal traders practical advice on how to engage with the eThekwini Municipality and its officials. The guide begins by setting out how one can become a registered informal trader. It then sets out the legal relationships between registered informal traders and the Municipality. It then describes the Municipality’s powers in regulating informal trade and sets out what legal steps traders can take when they experience unfair treatment by the Municipality. The guide ends with a section explaining the importance of protecting human rights defenders and a list of useful contact details. The guide is based on an earlier guide that SERI produced for traders in Johannesburg and has been developed in close consultation with street traders operating in eThekwini, drawing directly from their experiences and insights.This guide was written by Nick Budlender and edited by Lauren Royston (SERI Research and Advocacy Director). The guide is also available in IsiZulu.
- Employing a Do
mestic Worker: a Legal and Practical Guide (August 2021)
This Guide has been written for employers of domestic workers in South Africa. The purpose of this guide is to inform employers of their rights and obligations in the domestic employment relationship according to the law; provide practical advice towards creating a healthy working environment; and to support employers to improve their employment practices. It was written by Kelebogile Khunou (SERI researcher) and Amy Tekié (Izwi co-founder).
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SERI and Black Sash produce new factsheet to aid domestic workers in claiming from COIDA
(June 2021)
Domestic workers are now covered by the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993 (COIDA). This law provides for the payment of compensation to employees who suffer injuries or contract diseases while performing their work duties through the Compensation Fund. In the case of a death as a result of a work-related injury or disease, the Fund allows for compensation to the deceased employee’s dependents. This factsheet details the four main types of compensation payments under COIDA and explains how domestic workers can claim from the compensation fund.
SERI worked with the Black Sash to produce a factsheet for domestic workers, paralegals and community advice offices to provide them with information about the Mahlangu v Minister of Labour matter, in which domestic workers successfully challenged their exclusion from the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993 (COIDA) previously known as Workmen’s Compensation. The factsheet explains how COIDA works, summarises the facts of the court case and explains the implications of the judgment for domestic workers. The fact sheet explains how COIDA works, summarises the facts of the court case and explains the implications of the judgment for domestic workers. The fact sheet is also available in Shona, Sesotho, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu.
- Health and Legal Guidelines for informal trade (July 2020)
SERI worked with Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) and other stakeholders to produce these health and legal guidelines for informal trade. This Poster offers graphic guidelines for workers in markets, streets and home shops. They are also available in IsiZulu, English and Afrikaans.
Domestic work is one of the largest sources of employment for black women in South Africa, however domestic workers remain one of the most vulnerable occupational groups. Many domestic workers continue to be subjected to exploitative working conditions and disrespectful treatment. Despite the implementation of labour laws and the collective efforts of domestic workers to assert their rights, domestic workers' employment rights are not always respected. SERI developed this user-friendly resource guide to create awareness of the rights of domestic workers and the obligations of employers in terms of the domestic employment relationship. It explains what the law says about domestic workers and gives practical advice on how domestic workers can engage their employers. The guide is also accompanied by six information sheets on leave (also available in isiZulu), wages (also available in isiZulu), the UIF (also available in isiZulu), the CCMA (also available in isiZulu), employment contracts (also available in isiZulu) and the end of the employment relationship (also available in isiZulu). The guide was written by Kelebogile Khunou.
- Informal Trade in Johannesburg: Your Rights (March 2017)
This guide sets out the rights of informal traders making a living in Johannesburg and the avenues available to ensure those rights are protected. Informal traders make a living in hostile environments, and local governments do not protect the rights of people making a living informally in the same way that they do those working in the formal sector. Despite this, informal traders have found novel ways to hold local authorities to account. If traders are aware of their rights and how to protect them, they are better placed to resist illegal harassment and clamp downs on their businesses. >>It can be downloaded here and should ideally be printed and folded.
- Protecting the Rights of Informal Traders (June 2014)
This pamphlet explains the process that a municipality must follow to legally prohibit informal trade in an area, or to relocate informal traders. It outlines what a municipality can do in terms of the Businesses Act 71 of 1991, what the process is that a municipality must follow to restrict or prohibit informal trade in an area, and what can be done to stop the restriction or prohibition of trading in an area. It is important to know about this process so as to ensure that a municipality follows the law, and that those who might be negatively affected are given a chance to participate and articulate their position. This pamphlet was written by Michael Clark.
- >>It can be downloaded here and should ideally be printed and folded.