Labour Research Service

On International Women’s Day, care workers in South Africa send solidarity greetings to care workers across the world, and to all women workers who sustain our communities.

We demand recognition, dignity and decent work for all care workers. We are the hands that heal and the hearts that hold. Honour the work that makes us whole.

Happy International Women’s Day from care workers in South Africa!

In solidarity,
Community Health Workers, Food Handlers, and Early Childhood Development (ECD) Practitioners

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IFWEA affilate Labour Research Service reminds us that 7 February is Care Workers Day:
Care work keeps our communities alive.
Care workers are not volunteers. They are workers.
Without care work, nothing works.
The LRS calls on the Trade Union Movement to honour the work that makes us whole.

Care Worker Demand no. 5:

Care workers understand where systems fail and what communities need. Nothing about care work should be decided without care workers at the table.

This call is made in collaboration with:

• The South African Care Workers’ Forum
• Early Childhood Development practitioners organised by SADTU
• Food Handlers in Gauteng

📣 Honour the work that makes us whole, not with words, but with influence.



SAGE Fund Gender at Work SADTU National Office Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung South Africa Equality Collective

Care Worker Demand no. 4:

Care workers must have access to accredited training, clear career progression and long-term economic security.

This call is made in collaboration with:

• The South African Care Workers’ Forum
• Early Childhood Development practitioners organised by SADTU
• Food Handlers in Gauteng

📣 Honour the work that makes us whole, not with words, but with deconomic security.



SAGE Fund Gender at Work SADTU National Office FES Trade Union Competence Centre Sub-Saharan Africa - TUCC Equality Collective

Care Worker Demand no. 3:

Care workers must be recognised through correct and formal job titles. Accurate titles shape how care work is valued, paid and protected.

This call is made in collaboration with:

• The South African Care Workers’ Forum
• Early Childhood Development practitioners organised by SADTU
• Food Handlers in Gauteng

📣 Honour the work that makes us whole, not with words, but with job protection.



The SAGE Fund Gender at Work SADTU National Office Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung South Africa Equality Collective

Care Worker Demand no. 2:

Government must ensure formal employment, job security, UIF, sick leave, parental leave and safe workplaces, essential for gender justice and effective public services.

This call is made in collaboration with:
• The South African Care Workers’ Forum
• Early Childhood Development practitioners organised by SADTU
• Food Handlers in Gauteng

📣 Honour the work that makes us whole, not with words, but with dignified working conditions.



The SAGE Fund Gender at Work SADTU National Office Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung South Africa Equality Collective

Care Worker Demand No. 1:

The government must pay a living wage that reflects the skills, responsibilities, and social value of care work.

This call is made in collaboration with:
• The South African Care Workers’ Forum
• Early Childhood Development practitioners organised by SADTU
• Food Handlers in Gauteng

Honour the work that makes us whole, not with words, but with wages.



The SAGE Fund Gender at Work SADTU National Office Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung South Africa Equality Collective

Today, 7 February, we mark the inaugural Care Workers’ Day.

Care workers are the backbone of our communities, yet their labour remains undervalued, underpaid and invisible.

This day exists to:
• Honour the work that makes us whole
• Make care work visible
• Demand dignity, decent work and recognition

We call on trade unions, civil society, government, and communities to stand with care workers.

Care workers are not volunteers.
Care work is work.
Justice for care workers cannot wait.

📣 Share your posters, videos and messages.
📣 Tag this page.
📣 Let care workers be seen and heard.



SAGE Fund Gender at Work Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung South Africa SADTU National Office Equality Collective