It’s luck of the draw for domestic workers

INLSA

Unaware of SAs first Domestic Workers Day yesterday, Mary (not her real name), who used to work for a couple in the Vaal, wonders whats to celebrate. Photo: Timothy Bernard

Fifteen years of dedication and hard slog as a domestic worker to one family and she has nothing to show for it.

Now Mary*, a domestic worker from Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, feels let down by her former employers and is considering legal steps against them.

Her hopes were raised when her employers asked for her ID last year, telling her that they were preparing her unemployment insurance fund payout because she was nearly 60.

About two months after this discussion, Mary decided to leave her employment when she did not get her R1 200 monthly salary for the third month in succession.

She claims her employers – a couple in the Vaal – neglected to pay her while they were going through a divorce.

“They pointed fingers at each other every time they had to pay me.

“I could not take it any more and decided to leave because they could not have expected me to continue working without a salary, and so I left,” Mary said.

“Until today, I am yet to get my money or hear from the couple.”

Mary was a live-in domestic worker and went home only late on Fridays, returning on Sundays.

She lived in an outside room in her employers’ yard.

Her daily routine was to clean, wash, iron and take care of the children.

She said her shift began at 6am every day and she would work until 8pm, and sometimes later, especially when her employers went our for dinner in the evenings.

“I sometimes went to bed after midnight if they returned home later than usual,” she said.

Her salary had increased from R300 in the early 1990s to R1 200 by the time she resigned.

Like any other mother, Mary wanted to spend her weekends with her children, but on Saturday mornings she was working for a Soweto family in Diepkloof Extension.

Now, Mary works twice a week – on Tuesdays and Fridays – for this family to make ends meet.

She said that as a mother, she had to find the means to support her family.

“I couldn’t depend on my two older children, who are also working.

“I have to maintain my younger child and pay my burial clubs.”

Mary’s sad story paints a clear picture of how domestic workers’ rights are often trampled on by employers.

Not all employers are bad, though.

In her 10 years as a domestic worker in Pimville, Soweto, Matholoana Mothae has never been treated badly by her employers, who are pensioners.

Mothae, from Lesotho, started working for the family in 2002.

She told The Star that even her children were treated well by her employers – who she regards as her own parents.

She landed the job with the elderly couple by chance after walking from house to house, seeking employment.

“They were looking for someone and offered me the job.

“The couple are always there for me and very supportive,” said Mothae.

Apart from her R1 500 monthly salary, Mothae still takes home food and sometimes second-hand clothes from her employers.

Her duties as a domestic worker include ironing, washing, cleaning and taking care of her employers’ granddaughter when she returns from crèche.

“I sometimes cook when my employers are running late from their errands. I do it out of love because I want to, not because I am forced to do so,” said Mothae.

She said the relationship she had with her employers was the primary reason she had stayed this long with them.

“If there’s trust and respect in any relationship, nothing makes work difficult,” she said.

* Not her real name

* A domestic worker often becomes the heart of the family she is employed to work for.

* Their duties include all the household chores such as cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry and taking care of the children.

* Some domestic workers are hired to do only some selected chores, such as ironing and cleaning the house every now and again.

* Their services are especially handy for working people who don’t have the time to do everything for themselves, because of their schedules.

* At times their work doesn’t consist of domestic chores only, but can include being a nanny to young ones in these homes.

* Some domestic workers are part-time workers, who work two or three times a week.

* Those working part time are likely to be employed by several employers in a single week.

* Their working rates and hours are dependent on various factors. They can be paid once a month, once a fortnight, or every weekend.

Treat your helper with dignity she deserves

Treat your helper with dignity she deserves

* A domestic worker often becomes the heart of the family she is employed to work for.

* A domestic worker often becomes the heart of the family she is employed to work for.

* Their duties include all the household chores such as cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry and taking care of the children.

* Some domestic workers are hired to do only some selected chores, such as ironing and cleaning the house every now and again.

* Their services are especially handy for working people who don’t have the time to do everything for themselves, because of their schedules.

* At times their work doesn’t consist of domestic chores only, but can include being a nanny to young ones in these homes.

* Some domestic workers are

part-time workers, who work two or three times a week.

* Those working part time are likely to be employed by several employers in a single week.

* Their working rates and hours are dependent on various factors. They can be paid once a month, once a fortnight, or every weekend.

kutlwano.olifant@inl.co.za

The Star