WORKERS' DAY: DO YOU KNOW YOUR RIGHTS?

 

For centuries, 1 May was a festivity to welcome summer in the Northern Hemisphere. But May Day, as it’s also called, became a day of tribute to workers, celebrated around the world. It’s a good time to have a look at your rights as a worker.

Public holidays are a welcome break for most of us. But often we don't stop to think about what these days represent in our lives. Each year, more than 80 countries have International Worker's Day, or Labour Day as most call it. In the late 1800s slaves, traders, and others were forced to work in miserable conditions and the day was up to 12 hours long. Unions started demanding rights and an eight-hour day for workers, which led to a strike by about 190 000 people on 1 May 1886. The workers won their fight and May Day was born to remember this victory.

In South Africa, 1 May is called Workers’ Day and recognises the role various labour movements played in the fight against apartheid. It is about recognising workers’ rights and ensuring these are upheld by law.

SOUTH AFRICAN LAWS
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act explains how much leave you’re entitled to, including sick leave and family leave. The Employment Equity Act prohibits racial and other discrimination, while the Labour Relations Act gives workers protection when striking or negotiating with employers over salaries and working conditions.

The laws are complicated and for employers, expert guidance is pretty much essential. The best way for them to protect workers’ interests is to use labour consultants or lawyers, unless the company has its own human resources department.

WAGES
The minimum hourly wage was increased to R21,69 per hour from 1 March. This is for ordinary work time and excludes allowances, payments in kind, tips, bonuses and gifts. It doesn’t mean an employer should only pay this much, just that nobody should get less. The rate for domestic workers is lower but the government wants to push it to the general amount with the next increase.

RELATED ARTICLE: Understanding minimum wage

TAKING ACTION
Unfair treatment by employers or co-workers is unlawful as well. If you feel you have a case, it’s best to try and resolve it in the company and make the complaint formal by presenting it in writing. This is proof of when you raised the issue. Next would be a bargaining council, and if there isn’t one, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). This independent body is sympathetic to workers’ rights. It deals with 156 000 cases a year and about 65% of those are settled in favour of employees.

One of the most important rights of being employed in South Africa is the right to organise. The constitution says every worker has the right to form and join a trade union and to participate in union activities and every worker has the right to strike.

Worker's Day, Labour Day, May Day... Whatever the name, it's a reminder that we should all be valued and protected in what we do for a living. If we're not, we might consider the words of well-known American educator and activist Angela Davis: "I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change... I'm changing the things I cannot accept."

RELATED ARTICLE: Know your domestic worker rights

RESOURCES
CCMA (https://www.ccma.org.za)

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