In Memory of Myrtle Witbooi

In Memory of Myrtle Witbooi

Created: Thursday, 19 January 2023 16:12

Thank You Myrtle

It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Myrtle Witbooi, our dear friend, a GFI Board Member, and a champion of the rights of workers across the globe. Myrtle has been a guide star of the movement to secure the rights of domestic workers for nearly 60 years and she has ensured that the millions of women who work in our homes and care for our loved ones are afforded the protections and voice that has been denied them for so long. With her death we have lost one of the great labor leaders of our time and a resonant voice that would never be silenced, but through her work we have gained a movement and mission that can no longer be ignored or undone. Her cause is our cause and inspires our mission to create a more equitable, sustainable world for the working poor. We mourn her loss, but we celebrate her extraordinary contribution to our common good and to the countless women whose lives she uplifted.

Myrtle was the 2015 recipient of GFI's Fairness Award where she was honored for her leadership in influencing the adoption of the ILO Convention on Domestic Workers (No. 189) and for her life's work to secure greater rights and recognition for the more than 75 million domestic workers across the globe. As a domestic worker herself in apartheid South Africa, Myrtle organized the first South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU)s in 1965 and went on to found and lead the International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF) which was instrumental in influencing the creation of Convention 189. Throughout her life she lead the struggle to ensure greater dignity and security for women in their work and through her leadership countries across the Global South and North have adopted laws supporting domestic workers. Her commitment to the principles of self-reliance and collective action are the foundation of so many worker-centered organizations like the Global Fairness Initiative and with her passing we redouble our commitment to the mission and model that she set forth. Our thanks Myrtle for your leadership, your compassion and your dear friendship. You will be missed.