Abstract
The subject of domestic work has received a lot of attention in South Africa. The centre of interest in most of the literature on domestic workers was on the inter-racial relationships between white employers and Black African domestic workers. However, the focal point of more recent literature is on how the introduction of domestic workers’ rights has affected domestic workers’ lives. Recently, several scholars have also begun to look at the new Black African employers and their relationship with their Black African employees. Despite this, there has been a scarcity of literature on the job-related experiences of Black African live-in Basotho and South African domestic workers working for Black African employers in Johannesburg. This is the gap that this study is aspiring to redress. Drawing upon data from eight interviews with four Basotho and four South African live-in domestic workers conducted in Bryanston, Inanda, Rivonia, Parkhurst, Hyde Park, Morning Side Manor, Benmore and Lonehill. These are all in the Northern suburbs of Johannesburg. It was found that Basotho and South African domestic workers have unpleasant job-related experiences within the homes of their Black African employers. This research shows that the experiences of women in domestic work differs significantly from the experiences of women in other sectors, mainly because they work in their employers’ private spaces. Basic conditions of employment have been implemented for domestic workers in South Africa. However, with their low educational backgrounds and minimal information about their rights, domestic workers in this study are exposed to various forms of exploitation. These include but are not limited to, long hours of work, no employment benefits (UIF, pension fund, contracts) and no paid leave at the workplace. In conclusion, it is recommended that studies investigating the job-related experiences of domestic workers from South Africa, Zimbabwe and other neighbouring countries who are working in the townships for some lower classed persons be done, to see if they have similar experiences.
M.A. (Industrial Sociology)