Abstract

Domestic work is one of the few employment opportunities open to poor and often uneducated men and women. With few formal jobs available and facing gender discrimination, often coupled with discrimination based on race or ethnicity, options for decent work or wage are few. This paper investigates domestic workers minimum wage in relation to Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997. The ongoing demand for domestic services urged researchers to ask the question, whether domestic workers are being paid accordingly. Sectoral guidelines prescribe minimum wage regulations per area; data on the other hand suggest that employers are non-compliant and domestic workers are unaware of their basic right to minimum wage. Furthermore, there is a noted discrepancy in pay per unit of time as workers increase the amount of time they work. Specifically, working is found to be significantly negatively correlated with pay rate. Research has also revealed that the misconception relating to foreign nationals being paid a different rate as compared to South African nationals is non-existent.

Key words: Domestic worker, minimum wage, Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997.