Domestic workers are denied compensation for injuries because they are excluded from the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA). But an amendment to the law has been proposed. But we only have 7 days before public submissions close, and we need to come together in numbers to ensure the law is changed. Maria Mahlangu, a domestic worker drowned in 2012. Her family was offered only R2500 compensation. Johanna Motha was bitten by her employer's dog and set home without medical treatment. She ended up dying as a result of her injuries. These are just two of the countless incidences of injury and illness domestic workers have faced on the job. SADSAWU( South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union) brought an application against the Minister of Labour and the Compensation Commissioner for domestic workers to claim compensation in terms of the Compensation for Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993(COIDA), in response to the poor compensation Mahlangu's family was offered. The case has been pending since 2015. The case has recently been postponed, after being set for the 15th of October. This case is an example of the consequences of domestic worker's exclusion in this Act. We call on you to recognize this case, as well as the rights of domestic workers. The reality is that domestic work opens itself up to abuse. This abuse is targeted at Black working class womxn, who work behind closed doors and make up the largest percentage of domestic workers. Issues like health are always linked to racism and classism. Domestic workers are not seen as equals to their employer and are treated with contempt and disrespect. In the past domestic work, was not regulated by government, because they were not part of key labour legislation. Their work, was therefore seen as casual and informal, and little respect was paid to the work they do. This attitude of disregard towards domestic workers, is still seen in the way employers treat domestic workers. We are not paying enough attention to the health of domestic workers. Even though domestic work is included in the Occupational Health and Safety Act, they are still not a part of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act [1]. This means domestic workers cannot seek medical compensation for costs linked to work related injuries and diseases. Domestic workers have to cover their own medical expenses when injured on the job. This is often times impossible- due to the small sum of money they are paid. Domestic workers should be paid R1787.80 a month [2], this is hardly enough to cover basic living expenses and transport to work. A study by Dr. Lindiwe Innocentia Zungu on the health conditions domestic workers experience. The findings were that there are a range of workplace health hazards. These included “chemical hazards due to detergents and other chemicals used for cleaning purposes, and physical hazards from activities involving manual handling and/or repetitive movements, e.g. scrubbing floors, moving furniture, washing and ironing clothes.... Furthermore, psycho-social hazards due to urbanization were also prevalent among participants who resided in their employers’ premises.'' [3] It is clear that domestic work can be dangerous, physically and mentally. This is why it is important that we demand for the Minister of Labour to commit to including domestic workers in the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act. By including domestic workers in this Act, they will have access to health care, when faced with injury or illness acquired on the job. Their inclusion in this Act is also a message of recognition for the important work they do. By getting enough signatures on this petition, together we can demand the Minister of Labour to commit to making domestic work a priority and include them in the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act. [1] “The 2018 minimum wages for nannies and domestic workers.” Nic Anderson. 13 December 2017 for Parent24 [2]“Bill on labour brokers gets green light”Nov 12 2013 Sapa. Fin24 [3]"Employment conditions and challenges associated with being a domestic worker in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. "Dr Lindiwe Innocentia Zungu, Associate Professor, University of Johannesburg, Faculty of Health Sciences.

The majority of people living in Pennyville are currently either unemployed or the families are child run or elderly run with most receiving grants. Most of them cannot afford the rentals and therefore in arrears amounting to thousands of rands. Attempts to address this matter with the relevant authorities have been unsuccessful.

#DataMustFall got ICASA, the communications regulator, to introduce new rules that stop networks from chowing airtime when your bundle runs out, and making your data expire. But 24 hours before networks had to implement ICASA’s the new rules, Cell C made an urgent application to the court to stop the new ICASA regulations. MTN has joined Cell C in this action. ICASA has pushed back [1], but needs our help in creating public pressure to save millions of Mzansi’s people who continue to be pick pocketed by networks. Will you call on MTN to drop the legal action and comply with ICASA’s regulations? Recently, MTN announced a 200% data price increase [2]. It is hardly surprising that MTN are stalling the ICASA regulations given share prices have dropped by 53% over three years [3] They are trying to use the poor to maintain their profit margins and make returns for their shareholders. We know that MTN are merely stalling the regulations with this legal action- and we can beat them. Already, thousands of people across Mzansi joined the #DataMustFall campaign, and made submissions to ICASA on how these ridiculously high data prices affect them. Our actions resulted in regulations that will allow us to carry over unused data and not be charged high out-of-bundle rates without consent. With each month that passes without these regulations coming into effect, more money is robbed from our pockets. If we apply enough pressure on MTN as its customers, we could force them to back off this legal action and comply with the ICASA regulations. By emailing the CEO of MTN about his network’s actions, we will expose them to public scrutiny, creating a public backlash that could force them to drop their legal action. Will you sign? [1] ICASA Notes Cell C's Urgent Application To Review The Eussc Regulations. 7 June 2018. [2] Fans ready to cancel MTN after 200% data bundle price increase, Kyle Zeeman for TshisaLive. 17 July 2018. [3] SA telecoms shares come tumbling down, Tech Central. 27 June 2018.

#DataMustFall got ICASA, the communications regulator, to introduce new rules that stop networks from chowing airtime when your bundle runs out, and making your data expire. But 24 hours before networks had to implement ICASA’s the new rules, Cell C made an urgent application to the court to stop the new ICASA regulations just hours before they were meant to be implemented. MTN and Telkom have joined Cell C in this action. ICASA has pushed back [1], but needs our help in creating public pressure to save millions of Mzansi’s people who continue to be ripped off with high data prices. While it doesn’t appear that Vodacom have joined MTN, Cell C and Telkom in taking legal action against ICASA over the regulations, they are benefiting from the regulations being delayed. Let’s demand Vodacom show leadership and implement the regulations. Will you call on Vodacom to immediately comply with ICASA’s regulations? The people of Mzansi voiced how they were affected by high data costs charged by the likes of Vodacom and other service providers. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), after public hearings, published End-User and Subscriber Service Charter Regulations which were meant to come into effect on 8 June 2018, relieving the enormous data costs we all face. It's not surprising networks want to undermine ICASA so our Data Must Fall campaign isn't successful. They have a lot to lose should the regulations be implemented. Last year, Vodacom reported that they make R2 billion per month from data alone [2]. Research shows that low income consumers are paying disproportionately high charges, and are not seeing benefits of competition in comparison to high income consumers who are able to buy larger quantities of data [3]. [1] ICASA Notes Cell C's Urgent Application To Review The Eussc Regulations. 7 June 2018. [2] Vodacom now makes R2 billion per month from data, My Broadband. Jan 31, 2018. [3] Izolo: mobile diaries of the less connected, Research report by Making All Voices Count. 20 Nov 2017. [4] MTN, Vodacom charging up to 2 639% more for out-of-bundle data - report, Kyle Venktess for Fin24. 12 march 2018.

#DataMustFall got ICASA, the communications regulator, to introduce new rules that stop networks from chowing airtime when your bundle runs out, and making your data expire. But 24 hours before networks had to implement ICASA’s the new rules, Cell C made an urgent application to the court to stop the new ICASA regulations just hours before they were meant to be implemented, them. Now, MTN has joined Cell C in this action. ICASA has pushed back [1], but needs our help to save millions of Mzansi’s people who continue to be ripped off with high data prices. We know that Cell C are merely stalling the regulations, and our savings, with this court action - and we can beat them. Already, thousands of people across Mzansi joined the #DataMustFall campaign, and made submissions to ICASA on how these ridiculously high data prices affect them. Our actions resulted in regulations that will allow us to carry over unused data and not be charged high out-of-bundle rates without consent. If Cell C [2] get their way, it could be a huge setback for our campaign to bring the cost of data down. ICASA is defending the regulations in court, but the networks could drag this matter out to ensure the regulations are never implemented. Already they have blocked ICASA’s ability to penalise networks for not complying with the regulations. Each month that passes without these regulations coming into effect, more money is robbed from our pockets. If we apply enough pressure on Cell C as customers, we could force them to back off this legal action and comply with the ICASA regulations. By emailing the CEO of Cell C about his network’s actions, we will expose them to scrutiny, creating a public backlash that could force them to drop their legal action. Will you sign? [1] ICASA Notes Cell C's Urgent Application To Review The Eussc Regulations. 7 June 2018. [2] Cellphone networks gear up for legal battle over Icasa data ruling, Cape Talk. 6 July 2018.

#DataMustFall got ICASA, the communications regulator, to introduce new rules that stop networks from chowing airtime when your bundle runs out, and making your data expire. But 24 hours before networks had to implement ICASA’s the new rules, Cell C made an urgent application to the court to stop the new ICASA regulations just hours before they were meant to be implemented, them. Telkom has also taken legal action. ICASA has pushed back [1], but needs our help in creating public pressure to save millions of Mzansi’s people who continue to be ripped off with high data prices. The people of Mzansi voiced how they were affected by high data costs charged by the likes of Telkom and other service providers. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), after public hearings, published End-User and Subscriber Service Charter Regulations which were meant to come into effect on 8 June 2018, relieving the enormous data costs we all face. Telkom said they welcome ICASA’s position on the need for fairness in business practice around data pricing and the expiry of data bundles [2]. And we need to make sure that they remain true to their word. Research shows that low income consumers are paying disproportionately high charges, and are not seeing benefits of competition in comparison to high income consumers who are able to buy larger quantities of data [3]. [1] ICASA Notes Cell C's Urgent Application To Review The Eussc Regulations. 7 June 2018. [2] New data rules: MTN‚ Vodacom‚ Cell C and Telkom respond, Adiel Ismail for Fin24. 29 April 2018. [3] Izolo: mobile diaries of the less connected, Research report by Making All Voices Count. 20 Nov 2017. [4] MTN, Vodacom charging up to 2 639% more for out-of-bundle data - report, Kyle Venktess for Fin24. 12 march 2018.

1. Over 20 000 people are threatened by farm evictions in the Western Cape, Tshintsha Amakhaya is calling on president Cyril Ramaphosa to keep his promise following an announcement he made in Paarl in 2014 that there will be a moratorium as an immediate ban on legal and illegal farm evictions. Following the massive farm workers strike in De Doorns, Ramaphosa said, “We are calling on all farmers who have plans for evictions to stop the evictions.” However, the moratorium never came to effect. Instead, instances of farm evictions and human rights violations on farms persist. Today, Drakenstein Municipality has about 1,127 pending eviction matters. 2. The thousands of illegal evictions of farm workers and other farm dwellers continue to be evicted across the country despite the clear protections contained in the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997 (‘ESTA’) that a farm worker and persons living in the same dwelling as the worker may only be evicted: a) in terms of an order of the court b) once the court is satisfied that the eviction would be just and equitable c) and once the Land Claims Court has confirmed the order; 3. The great hardship, conflict and social instability caused by such evictions on a group of people already rendered vulnerable through their insecure tenure. 4. The disproportionate impact of these illegal evictions on women due to the commercial agricultural system that continues to confine women to an auxiliary labour category increasing their vulnerability to labour-related evictions. 5.The total system failure to protect the rights and security of farm workers and dwellers due to poor enforcement and resource endowment of ESTA; 6. The continued failure of municipalities to provide adequate alternative shelter as legislatively prescribed. 7. The Constitutional imperative, in section 25(6), to ensure that person whose tenure of land is legally insecure as a result of past racially discriminatory laws or practices, like farm workers and other farm dwellers, are provided with either legally secure tenure or comparable redress. Both farm workers and dwellers should be prioritised and be at the forefront of cases on which expropriation without compensation will be tested. “We used to work hard on this farm until we were retrenched in 1999. Nothing happened on the farm for 11 years and most of us couldn’t find work again. Now this farmer wants to evict us” This a desperate cry by a mother whose family is facing eviction from the farm she's worked and lived in for years [1]. She, like many others, now face a bleak future of being dumped on the road side with no protection and nowhere to go. President Cyril Ramaphosa made a promise in 2014 to stop farm evictions until people can be given dignified housing [2]. Even more recently, Deputy Minister Mcebisi Sikwatsha has seen with his own eyes the desperate situation farm workers are faced with [3] and also made promises to take it up with his Minister and President. We however cannot leave it to them. Thousands of illegal evictions of farm workers and other farm dwellers continue to be evicted across the country despite the clear protections contained in the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA). Places like Drakenstein are eviction hotspots with 1,127 pending evictions matters [4]. Evictions bring great hardship, conflict and social instability. The failure to protect the rights and security of farm workers and dwellers due to poor enforcement of ESTA and the failure of municipalities to provide adequate alternative shelter as legislatively prescribed need to be addressed. We need to stand with those being evicted and demand that government responds to the cries of the people. Will you tell President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane to stop all farm evictions and help protect the rights and security of farm workers and dwellers? [1] [3] Western Cape could be testing ground for land expropriation without compensation, says minister, Barbara Maregele for Groundup News. 5 June 2018. [2] Ramaphosa asked to keep his promise to freeze farm evictions, Barbara Maregele for Groundup News. 5 April 2018. [4] Woman faces eviction after 51 years on a farm, Barbara Maregele for Groundup News. 31 May 2018.

Just two months ago, four people aged between 12 and 28 were killed in Nyanga. Another person was hospitalised [1]. Murders like this are not rare in the township. In the last two years alone, the murder rate has increased, with one in 206 people killed every year [2]. In the police ministry budget tabled in May, the Minister of Police announced that the residents of Nyanga will have to wait until 2023 for construction of a second police station. This despite the fact that the one currently servicing the community is severely overstretched and doesn’t even have enough space for all its police officers. For years now, the people of Nyanga have lived in terror. The township is known as Mzansi’s murder capital. The Department of Police has for years ignored calls for a second station. But with support from amandla. mobi, the calls for the police station grew louder, and in October a piece of land to build a police station was identified [3]. But now the current Minister, Bheki Cele, has shown that he too is in no rush to move it forward. His own budget speech, but if enough of us take action this is our chance to get the Minister's attention and show him that the people of Nyanga, along with the amandla. mobi community are demanding that he takes action. [1] Four killed in Nyanga shooting, Shamiela Fisher for EyeWitness News. 4 April 2018. [2] Nyanga, Western Cape, has a murder rate of one in every 206 people, Tom Head for The South African. 26 October 2017. [3] Land near Nyanga identified for a new police station, Okuhle Hlati for Independent News. 27 October 2017.

Thousands of amandla. mobi members have fought hard to make free sanitary products a reality for millions of girls. Unfortunately, for the households that could put a few rands together to buy a pack, the VAT hike announced earlier this year has made it even more expensive, meaning more people who need sanitary towels could go without. But right now, we have an opportunity to change that. Public submissions to the expert panel investigating the expansion of zero rating to more items was extended. But it ends on June 4, 2018. Send the panel a direct message telling them to recommend that sanitary products are included in the list of essential zero-rated products. People who get periods will buy up to 17 000 sanitary pads or tampons in their lifetime [1]. This basically means that the average person could spend up to almost R40 000 on sanitary pads in that time [2]. This in a country in which over 50% of the population live in poverty. The VAT hike has had an impact on the cost of living in Mzansi. People are spending much more on essential food items, reducing how much they have for other needs. And living a decent, dignified life requires so much more than food. Our community exists to primarily protect us, Black women. You, and over two hundred thousand others have taken action to make this real. And we need you to once again stand with us and make sure the panel recommends dropping the tax on our periods. [1] A guide to 'alternative menstruation': Save money and the world during your period, Pontsho Pilane for Bhekisisa. 31 Oct 2016. [2] Why treasury won't support a fall in the tampon tax, Pontsho Pilane for Bhekisisa. 5 Dec 2016.

Learners need LO in Gr 10-12 and many benefit a great deal from this vital subject. The Minister made the promise in 2015 that LO will not be scrapped, but strengthened. So don''t break this promise! The implications of taking out LO will mean that teachers will not specialise in LO at universities if it is a small subject that only goes to grade 9. It will mean the end of the subject. There are many great LO teachers who are devastated. Learners only take career ed seriously in Grades 11-12. LO teachers are heartbroken at the sad news of history usurping LO. This was not a democratic decision not were LO experts consulted. To pit one subject against the other is unwise. Instead, the Department can create a subject called which can include African history and herstory, African role models and Governance, Constitution, Voting, Human Rights, etc. LO topics are vital to learners in Grades 10-12, they give in-depth career education, sexuality education, create awareness on gender issues, improve study and exam writing skills, stress management, substance abuse, environmental protection and relationships, diversity and self-esteem enhancement. They also promote Indigenous Games. [1] Motshekga defends life orientation, The New Age. 15 Feb 2017.

Before the VAT increase kicked in on 1 April 2018, National Treasury had announced that it would set up a panel of experts to consider and review the country’s current list of items that have been zero rated for VAT. We know that the VAT increase has hit the poor and those who rely on social grants, the hardest. National Treasury set up an independent expert panel to look into removing VAT from more items and is calling for submissions. But we have only 24 hours to do this. We can pressure government to review the current list of zero rated items so that we give some relief to poor households. Currently, Mzansi has 19 basic food items on the zero rated list [1]. This includes dried beans, samp, maize meal, rice, milk, tinned pilchards, brown bread, eggs and vegetables, as well as illuminated paraffin. The zero rating does not apply to items such as sanitary products, soap, stationary, margarine and school uniforms to name a few. The poor cannot live off just 19 zero rated items. Many of our leaders seem to acknowledge that the VAT increase is a problem, and we can use this moment to continue to reduce the impact of the VAT hike on the poor, while working towards holding Treasury and Parliament to account. [1] Zero-rated and exempt supplies, National Treasury website. [2] https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/treasury-calls-for-publics-input-on-adding-items-to-zero-rated-vat-list-20180517

Without a spousal visa, Wendy cannot: Enroll in any institution Register for school yet she was accepted for 2017 Get formal employment Get proof of residence Apply for a driver's licence Open a bank account Travel outside of South Africa which means the couple cannot... visit her FAMILY! How can your department infringe so many rights? Nomfundo and Wendy have followed the law and procedures necessary for a spousal visa. It is not fair that their relationship is not recognized and acknowledged in the same way as a heterosexual couple. The law and the Constitution protect them. The Department of Home Affairs needs to be held accountable!