"Sex workers demand recognition of their trade," the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (Sweat) said in a statement on Thursday.

The NGO, which is based in Cape Town but operates in several provinces, recently won a high court order against police over arrests of sex workers.

"Having secured this victory, Sweat is calling for... the right to freedom of trade, occupation and profession [and] the right to decent working conditions and fair labour practices," Sweat said.

It said sex workers wanted access to statutory bodies such as the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, in resolving labour disputes.

A Cape Town sex worker was refused access to the CCMA in 2007 when she sought to challenge an unfair dismissal by her employer.

She then took the case to the labour court, which accepted her argument that she was an employee in terms of the Labour Relations Act, but found that because she was a sex worker, which was illegal, it could not enforce her rights.

Sweat said regularising sex work could see sex workers being able to contribute to the Unemployment Insurance Fund.

They should enjoy state-subsidised access to educational and training facilities.

Sweat said sexworkers also wanted an end to financial exclusion by banks and other institutions on the basis that they did not receive a payslip.

Cosatu Western Cape provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich said the union federation supported the sex workers' demands for labour rights.

"It's not our place to make a moral judgement on prostitution. It's a reality in South Africa today," he said.

"Those workers work under difficult and dangerous conditions, and they need protection just like every other South African."

The Democratic Alliance-led City of Cape Town has threatened to seek new ways of clamping down on sex workers following the high court ruling.

Chairperson of the council's safety and security portfolio committee JP Smith said last week the city was trying to discourage an industry that, he said, was linked to women abuse, HIV/Aids transmission and human trafficking.

Sapa

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