Myrtle Witbooi

The home- front

Meet Myrtle Witbooi, a 75 year old domestic worker turned labour activist in South Africa, who has led a five decade crusade to improve working conditions for domestic workers around the world.

Growing up during apartheid, Myrtle moved from her rural hometown of Genadendal to Cape Town in 1962 with dreams of becoming a nurse. Despite earning good grades at school, she was barred from continuing her education due to her colour. With no income and limited opportunities, Myrtle resigned herself to life as a domestic worker for a white family.

Although her employer was fairer than most, Myrtle worked seven days a week for little pay and was forced to live away from her own children and husband. In 1969, she read a newspaper article denigrating domestic workers and it sparked a fire in her to question “why are we different?” Myrtle channelled her frustration into a letter to editor, which to her surprise was published in the newspaper and two days later a journalist knocked on her employer’s door, offering to help Myrtle organise a meeting for other domestic workers to talk about their concerns.

250 domestic workers showed up to the meeting. Myrtle stood before them, as an incredibly nervous 18 year old but she soon found her calling as a leader. With her employer’s permission Myrtle continued holding weekly meetings in their garage on Sundays under the guise of a church committee because domestic workers weren’t allowed to go anywhere but church in the white areas. Over the next decade Myrtle’s mission to improve the lives and working conditions of domestic workers slowly gained momentum.

In 1986, Myrtle’s garage meetings transformed into the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union. For over thirty years she has pioneered ground-breaking protections for domestic workers in South Africa and in 2011, led a global coalition to secure the first international labour standard guaranteeing domestic workers the same basic rights as other workers. Today, Myrtle is the president of the International Domestic Workers Federation which has affiliates across 63 countries, and her fight for justice is far from over.

“We want to be seen as women who are adding to the economy of the world, enriching it. Women won't be free until domestic workers are free. I’m determined to see this change in my lifetime.”