Questions about minimum wages have been occupying much of the national debate lately, with various industries attempting to determine what an appropriate pay scale is.
This is all well and good, however very little is being said about minimum wages for domestic workers – the cooks, cleaners, nannies, guards and drivers – that many of us employ and who, for the most part, belong to an entirely unregulated service industry.
Domestic staff are paid well below the national average for low-skilled jobs, causing many of them to opt for the slightly better options available within the garment industry.
Given that garment industry salaries are themselves inadequate in terms of the costs of living, one wonders how we, as a nation, are so indifferent to what goes on, literally, beneath our noses.
The fact that domestic workers are given food and board and therefore have fewer demands on their income isn’t an appropriate counter-argument because it doesn’t allow them to improve their overall lot in life or adequately invest in their children’s future.
It also means that they are never able to sign off from work and end up employed for many more hours than their counterparts in other industries are, without any overtime pay. Many are virtual prisoners and are frequently abused, sometimes even killed.
It is high time this form of employment enjoys a structured, regulated approach, which gives domestic workers fixed hours, minimum wages, overtime pay, official holidays and security. There should be regulatory bodies and employment agencies that potential clients can go to, to hire workers for their household needs.
