Abstract
Historically, scholarship on domestic work in Africa
has characterised the sector as oppressive. As
an integral part of the oppressive nature of the
domestic work domain, this article investigates the
contradictions associated with the admirable act of
employers paying their domestic workers more than
recommended minimum wage in Eswatini. Previously
known as Swaziland, Eswatini is a small, interlocked
country between South Africa and Mozambique. The
country’s recommended minimum wage for domestic
workers is E 1,246.00 (USD 73.20) per month. Interviews
were conducted among ten live-in domestic workers
from Tubungu, Eswatini, who earn E 3,500 (USD 205.63)
or more per month. This article relies on in-depth
interviews to establish the dynamics at work in this
act of constructive remuneration. The study’s findings
challenge the assumption that higher paid wages in
the domestic sector are always a well-intentioned and
successful achievement of one aspect of the ‘decent
work’ agenda. Findings show that higher wages subtly
increase domestic workers’ tolerance of employers’
disregard of other working conditions. This is at the
expense of the domestic workers’ well-being and pacifies
their ability to challenge their employers about other
working conditions as their entitlement. The study shows
how both liberating and oppressive experiences, not just
oppression, coexist within the domestic work landscape
in Eswatini. This points to an interesting ambiguity in the
domestic work field. Finally, the study shows how these
contradictory oppressive and liberatory experiences both
inform and sustain domestic work in the country. This is
in a context where women are part of a labour market
with high unemployment, with domestic work being a
convenient source of employment for less-skilled labour.