Domestic workers are battling to survive as inflation bites into wage increases
Wage increases are not keeping up with inflation, leaving many domestic workers not being able to make ends meet.
Woman with mop and bucket cleaning floor with mop at home. Credit: @voktybre/123rf.com
Stephen Grootes speaks to Luke Kannemeyer, Managing Director at SweepSouth.
Listen to the interview in the audio below.
South Africans, regardless of class, race or occupation, will will be well aware of the rise in cost of living since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Food inflation has had the most impact, with staples such as bread, milk and proteins such as chicken and eggs sky-rocketing in price over the last 36 months.
But the rise in cost of living has a harder impact on those who earn minimum wage or close to it, such as domestic workers.
Wage increases are not keeping up with inflation, leaving many domestic workers not being able to make ends meet.
This is according to the 2024 SweepSouth report on pay and working conditions for domestic workers, which surveyed 40,000 domestic workers across the country, mostly in urban centres
Speaking to Stephen Grootes on The Money Show, Luke Kannemeyer, Managing Director at SweepSouth, says there are many factors playing into the difficulties of being a domestic worker.
"The power disparity between employers and their domestic employees is such that many aren't going to stand up and ask for more pay or to be treated in a different way." - Luke Kannemeyer, managing director at SweepSouth
"There's a cohort of employers, who through ignorance are not aware that they maybe aren't measuring up to an hourly minimum wage." - Luke Kannemeyer, managing director at SweepSouth
"Why is it that you and I, at a formal employer has HR and finance that can easily integrate into technical system to ensure that UIF and COIDA is paid? But it's much more difficult for the domestic employer..." - Luke Kannemeyer, managing director at SweepSouth
Scroll to the top of the article to listen to the full interview.