Johannesburg - Domestic workers do essential work in society and yet they are often among the first to lose their jobs in a tough economy. And so, in a bid to look out for themselves and their families, they now cater to more than one household at a time, leaving behind the “live-in” dynamic.
Many domestic workers do not want to work full-time as “live-in” workers. Apart from the “free accommodation”, they have found that they are overworked and underpaid. The part-timers seem to make more money in the long run.
Sibongile Ntloki, 43, from Naledi extension 2, Soweto, said she had gone from being a live-in domestic worker to a freelance domestic worker working for different households on her street.
“I used to live with a family of three children and two adults. I was overworked, babysitting and cleaning. I made R1 500 a month. It wasn’t enough for me so I decided I’d rather freelance. With that decision, I now make R300 per day, working for different households, and I work six days a week. I don’t spend much on transport, just one local taxi to and from work. I’m happy to be home with my children every evening. I would spend little time with them as a live-in domestic worker,” Ntloki said.
The vice general secretary of the SA Domestic Services and Allied Workers Union, Eunice Dladla, said domestic workers were engaged in a constant hustle to get work from multiple clients. The majority only work for an employer for one to three years. A paltry 14% of South Africa’s domestic workers would enjoy a tenure of more than five years.
“We’re all struggling, but for them the situation is even more precarious. So we’re seeing a shift where catering for more than one household works for them as they spend more time with their families,” Dladla said.
While some do rake it in as freelance domestic workers, Avuyile Sibaza, 39, from Thokoza on the East Rand said there was some form of strain with being a freelance worker as it would get quite demanding for them.
“The work becomes demanding. Every house you get to when you get there, you’re basically doing a week’s work. Spring cleaning, washing and ironing all in one day. Also, transport and food costs need to be considered. Both dynamics of being a freelance domestic worker and a ‘live-in’ domestic worker have their pros and cons, I suppose,” Sibaza said.
Data from a survey carried out in August 2022 by SweepSouth, a cleaning services company, found that more than a quarter (28%) of domestic workers said they lost their jobs because their employer had moved. About 33% of employers moved to a different town or city in South Africa, while nearly half (48%) moved to another country.
Salary data from them in the same period showed that the average domestic worker in South Africa would take home about R2 997 a month – significantly lower than even the current national minimum wage of R3 700 a month.
The managing director of SweepSouth, Luke Kannemeyer, said: “A hike to (an hourly rate of) R25.05 would push the monthly rate to more than R4 000 for a worker who works eight hours a day, 20 days a month. This is approximately R300 more than in 2022.”