Social workers are heroes but the law ignores them

ATTACKS on social workers keep climbing while national policy lags; formal essential-service status is the least South Africa owes its frontline carers. When South Africa went into lockdown in March 2020, a spotlight shone brightly on those who held the country together amid an unprecedented crisis - doctors, nurses, police officers, and ... social workers.

- WENDY KAIZER-PHILANDER

Quietly, with little fanfare and often without proper protection, social workers stepped into dangerous and traumatic situations to provide lifesaving services to society's most vulnerable. And yet, five years later, the Western Cape Legislature is still fighting for the formal recognition they so clearly deserve: to be classified as essential frontline workers.

It is a matter of safety, fairness, and justice. Recognising social workers as essential workers under the Labour Relations Act (LRA) would open the door to protective legislation, hazard pay, priority access to safety equipment, and the right to be included in emergency planning benefits that are currently reserved for other frontline professionals. The failure to formally classify social workers as essential is dangerous.

In a country plagued by deep inequality, poverty, gender-based violence, and a mental health crisis,

social workers are often the first and only responders to cries for help. They protect abused children, assist women fleeing violent partners, support people with disabilities, aid the homeless, and intervene in mental health emergencies. Their work spans hospitals, clinics, schools, community centres, and sometimes the streets.

Social workers perform many of the same functions as medical or police professionals: they deescalate crises, assess danger, and protect the vulnerable. They often operate in high-risk settings, including correctional facilities, shelters, and homes where violence is not only a possibility but a routine reality.