SA domestic workers face spiralling debt
As sector bleeds jobs
The job losses indicated by the survey represented a 15% percent increase in the number of domestic workers who lost their means.
The average domestic worker in South Africa owes more than she earns in a month to shops, friends and loan sharks – with a worsening debt spiral on the cards as she spends more than she earns on an ongoing basis amid rising living costs, a recent survey has found.The outlook is, furthermore, unlikely to improve as emigration takes its toll on domestic workers' employment prospects.
According to the sixth annual survey of domestic workers by SweepSouth, an online platform through which customers can book domestic workers, the sector suffered "masses of job losses" over the past year, with the leading cause being employers moving.
Of those who relocated, nearly 60% emigrated.
The job losses indicated by the survey represented a 15% percent increase in the number of domestic workers who lost their means, the report said.
South Africa's official statistics show that the unemployment rate overall edged upwards in the first quarter of 2023 – the first rise in a year, following a peak in January 2022. In terms of individual sectors, however, job losses were by far the most dramatic in private households (-85 000) with trade trailing far behind at -28 000, followed by mining at -24 000.
The 2023 Report on Domestic Workers Pay and Work Conditions, released on Sunday, surveyed over 5 500 participants. It found that that the average domestic worker in South Africa – 94% of whom are women – is 37 years old and earns about R2 989 a month from domestic work as her only source of income while being the only breadwinner in her family.
Spending
On average, she spends just under R700 more than she earns each month, "is unable to save, has no medical aid, and owes about R3 599 to shops, friends and loan sharks, among others", the report authors said.
Just 9% of the domestic workers surveyed had savings. "The only way for domestic worker earnings to increase in the past year, has been for them (42%) to take on more roles in order to generate more income. But those are the lucky ones," SweepSouth said.
The survey authors called for "urgent contemplation of universal unemployment benefits", saying most domestic workers who lost their jobs did not have UIF, either. Just 52% of those registered were able to submit successful claims.
The report painted a grim picture for minimum wage earners amid spiralling living costs, a limping economy and poor implementation of labour legislation.
Further, it said, power cuts had not only contributed to job cuts, but also a lack of safety.
"Load shedding also had devastating effects," it said. "For the first time this year, the report also looked at the effects of South Africa’s electricity crisis and found that many domestic workers, who lost their jobs in the past year, felt that load shedding played a role in their loss of employment.
"Power cuts also negatively impacted the safety and commutes of domestic workers as they navigate the rolling blackouts."-Fin24