A housekeeper is unhappy with her “retirement package” of R40 000, offered by her employer of 30 years.
German businessman Harald Scheppig also offered 70-year-old live-in domestic worker Elizabeth Modise a monthly stipend of R1 500 until she dies.
But Elizabeth says the lump sum is an insult for all her hard work, looking after her boss’ two multi-million rand properties in Somerset West.
One of the properties is the Galiläi estate, Scheppig’s home which can rotate to escape the wind and sun.
The house had been featured in magazines and TV shows and was built by Scheppig and his wife, who died in 2001.
In 2016, the house was on the market for R25 million.
An upset Modise says: “I have given birth to my children at this house. I arrived in Cape Town in the 70s to work as a domestic worker and this is how I get thanked for my service? No.”
According to Modise’s contract, which the Daily Voice has seen, she and her boss “acknowledged” that items had been going missing from the house over the past few months, and that she would retire on February 1, 2021 as he would have no need for a housekeeper due to “operational reasons”.
She was offered a lump sum of R40 000, a monthly stipend of R1 500 for as long as both parties are alive, all the furniture and appliances she has in her apartment, and Scheppig would pay for her relocation to Bloemfontein.
The contract was drawn up on December 18 and Modise was due to vacate the premises on January 15.
“I deserve more, this is an insult and he sent lawyers to deliver it,” she says.
“I have no home here in Cape Town and my clothes were thrown out by the gardeners.”
She says the businessman would go on business trips for months on end, leaving her to fend for herself at the properties, at the mercy of burglars.
“The last break-in was in December. There were times when I had to go to court and other places to identify stolen items from the house because he is always away,” she says.
Modise says she was earning R5 000 per month with no benefits and was not registered for the unemployment fund.
Department of Labour spokesperson Musa Zondi says they could not assist Modise: “Unfortunately at the moment, there is no legal instrument for a pension for domestic workers. That said, the proposed contract is up to her to accept or not.”
South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union General Secretary Myrtle Witbooi says: “This is at all times the sad situation of domestic workers.
“The law does not make it compulsory for a worker to get a pension. He is within the law and therefore, we can only ask him at least to increase the monthly payment.”
Scheppig is being represented by attorney Christian Kaestner, who said in a statement: “Please be advised that both parties are represented by lawyers (who are familiar with the applicable laws) and are currently in negotiations in order to resolve the matter. In light of the above, both lawyers are in agreement that it is not in the parties’ best interest to comment on content or confirm/deny any of your allegations; we reserve our right to do so at the appropriate moment.”