Minimum Wage for Domestic Workers?

[DJ...]

My view is that what you pay people is not the major factor in determining whether or not they will steal from you. Their background, culture and personality play a bigger role in my view.

Agreed. I tend to pay a premium for people like that. However I do believe that it is a combination of the two. Even the most honest people can be forced to partake in dishonest activities should push come to shove...

 

[Ou grote]

LOL. You got me. Now the wenches want passports as well and I can only marry one of them. You interested in a Yugoslavian?

Send her over.
I can get a pretty good passport for R500 outside home affairs in Wynberg.

 

[thatdamnJoe]

Far too vague a question, but I'll answer within the context of the numbers thrown around in this thread so far. At R85 per day, I wouldn't employ a domestic worker. Especially if that includes transport. I don't separate personal employment with that of a company for example, and I would rather pay a premium for quality than a pittance for unhappiness.

Of course the domestic would rather choose to be employed at a minimal rate than not at all, stands to reason, however just because her benchmark is circumstantially low, doesn't mean one should take advantage of that. My gripe is more that the poster earlier in the thread stated that his domestic costs him R200/day, yet only pays her R85/day. Well just pay her the R200/day then and let her do with her money as she sees fit.

It's an interesting dilemma you propose, however I wouldn't feel comfortable paying someone R10 an hour, especially when the security risks are attached to a domestic worker.



LOL. You got me. Now the wenches want passports as well and I can only marry one of them. You interested in a Yugoslavian?

Well, you are getting to what I'm really after. Obviously we would all like to be able to pay our DW a lot. But not everyone can afford that. Apart from the trust issue, if you could get a dependable person for a low fee, is it morally better to employ them at that low fee(which may be all you can afford) or not employ them at all(given the high rate of unemployment in SA).

Is it still exploitation if you pay someone a pittance, but at least you pay someone? Probably. Does that mean everyone who pays their DW's badly should rather fire them instead? I should think not.

Its a tricky one thats for sure

 

[zesto]

Thanks for the suggestions guys and thanks DJK for the link.
I decided to start off at R1600 for four days a week and see how it goes from there.

 

[Kenny]

They'll just take stuff anyway If he ups to R200.00p/m .... I'm pretty sure he'll still find R50-R100 worth of stuff vanishing per day.

+1 !

 

[CyraxHB]

The problem is that you have to be earning a pretty big salary in order to pay your maid well.

 

[QX6700RULZ]

I haven't had an issue with theft or any other form of dishonesty since being able to pay my maid a decent salary. If she wants something extra, she'll ask instead of helping herself...

I am responsible for 5 (we have offices as well as residence on our property) and all of them earn more than 200 a day and also get their bread, pap, tea/coffee and whatever else we have extra every day and guess what 3 of them still steal from us.

Yes we do pay uif for them and pension and if they work weekends they get an extra 150-200 a day for 4 hours work, what a pleasure.

 

[Thugscub]

I am responsible for 5 (we have offices as well as residence on our property) and all of them earn more than 200 a day and also get their bread, pap, tea/coffee and whatever else we have extra every day and guess what 3 of them still steal from us.

Yes we do pay uif for them and pension and if they work weekends they get an extra 150-200 a day for 4 hours work, what a pleasure.

Got a job for me i also have a MBA.

 

[FarligOpptreden]

We have a domestic worker coming in once a week. We pay her R130 a day and R30 for transport money. We also make sure she has lunch in the fridge. All-in-all I guess its around R180 a day (R130 wage + R30 transport + R20 food).

 

[DJ...]

I am responsible for 5 (we have offices as well as residence on our property) and all of them earn more than 200 a day and also get their bread, pap, tea/coffee and whatever else we have extra every day and guess what 3 of them still steal from us.

Yes we do pay uif for them and pension and if they work weekends they get an extra 150-200 a day for 4 hours work, what a pleasure.

Sure, it's not a steadfast rule of thumb, however I'm inclined to believe that a happy worker is less likely to be dishonest than an unhappy one...

 

[Gamer]

Now you're just being obtuse for the sake of it. You've perfected the Pitbull logic, well done.

The moment I realised you were someone who resorted to insults when your argument fell flat, I no longer wished to remain in debate with you.

I would like to however give some feedback to you DJ... following your advice below:

Might be better if you let her go though, so that she can find herself a better paying job...

My wife and I decided to take your wise advice and gave our maid notice on 30 April. We explained to her your opinion on her being essentially ripped off by us and she'd be better off finding a better paying job.

She didn't mince her words...she was devastated and said she was bringing home more than any of her friends who are all employed in a domestic capacity. She worked the month of May as her notice period and she began seeking employment immediately from the 1st May.

She left at end May without finding a job yet. We've heard from her this last week and she's still not found a job - she's asked for her job back with us. She has been offered employment at less than she was earning with us, but has turned it down...for now. She says she will have no choice but to take it if nothing better comes along, but by the end of this month she'll not have earned a cent except for the extra one week retrenchment pay we gave her.

You had such good ideas for her, is it possible that I can give her your telephone number and you share some of your bright idea's with her...I am sure that'll make her feel a whole lot better and will put food in ker kids mouthes.

Sure, it's not a steadfast rule of thumb, however I'm inclined to believe that a happy worker is less likely to be dishonest than an unhappy one...

I am glad you've admitted that the real reason behind wanting to pay more is not for their benefit but an effort by you to buy their honesty.

 

[DarkWater]

The moment I realised you were someone who resorted to insults when your argument fell flat, I no longer wished to remain in debate with you.

I would like to however give some feedback to you DJ... following your advice below:


My wife and I decided to take your wise advice and gave our maid notice on 30 April. We explained to her your opinion on her being essentially ripped off by us and she'd be better off finding a better paying job.

She didn't mince her words...she was devastated and said she was bringing home more than any of her friends who are all employed in a domestic capacity. She worked the month of May as her notice period and she began seeking employment immediately from the 1st May.

She left at end May without finding a job yet. We've heard from her this last week and she's still not found a job - she's asked for her job back with us. She has been offered employment at less than she was earning with us, but has turned it down...for now. She says she will have no choice but to take it if nothing better comes along, but by the end of this month she'll not have earned a cent except for the extra one week retrenchment pay we gave her.

You had such good ideas for her, is it possible that I can give her your telephone number and you share some of your bright idea's with her...I am sure that'll make her feel a whole lot better and will put food in ker kids mouthes.



I am glad you've admitted that the real reason behind wanting to pay more is not for their benefit but an effort by you to buy their honesty.

I don't want to sound rude but this is actually your fault. You shouldn't have let her go in the first place. You can't take every post on this forum as facts since at the end of the day it's all just opinion. My mom also has a DW and pays her R80 per day plus similar freebies (which was not included in the agreement). She earns more from my mom then any of her other employers. She's extremely happy here and would be devastated if my mom decides to let her go.

Just give her, her job back so that she can actually buy some food.

 

[Necuno]

How much do you pay a domestic worker?
She will be working from 08:30 to 15:00 Monday to Friday doing ironing and cleaning in a 3 bedroom house. Any ideas or guidelines i can refer to?

one option missing:

i am the domestic worker



since i do all the house chores with my partner anyways, no need to get another mouth in the house.

 

[Sting]

+1, now to rope in my kids !!!

/ off to do the washing...

 

[kingmonty]

Forums should include the following paragraph during registration:

From time to time you may feel the urge to request some advice from other members on this forum. You may think the advice on a forum is good, practical and sound. And you're right! We're all lawyers, financial advisers, tax consultants, sex experts, relationship gurus, doctors, criminologists, programmers, pilots and fitness experts. We know better than any sportsmen, managers, coaches, referees, officials, presidents, ministers and chiefs of business. We are masters at Google and know the inner workings of the Universe. We are gods! But just in case we get it wrong every once in a while, consider the advice we dispense as a load of bull**** - and take it with an entire sack of salt.

 

[Necuno]

Forums should include the following paragraph during registration:

From time to time you may feel the urge to request some advice from other members on this forum. You may think the advice on a forum is good, practical and sound. And you're right! We're all lawyers, financial advisers, tax consultants, sex experts, relationship gurus, doctors, criminologists, programmers, pilots and fitness experts. We know better than any sportsmen, managers, coaches, referees, officials, presidents, ministers and chiefs of business. We are masters at Google and know the inner workings of the Universe. We are gods! But just in case we get it wrong every once in a while, consider the advice we dispense as a load of bull**** - and take it with an entire sack of salt.

 

[Nicci]

I am thinking of maybe taking a housekeeping job over weekends. Does people hire the african ladies only, or does it not matter? Im not being racist, just wondering how one would go about someting like this. I need the cash urgently, and I saw a movie with Jen Anniston as a house keeper, and it doesnt look that bad. I also applied for a house sitter, so will see how that pans out. I used to do modeling a while back, and although the pay is ok, its not a full time job, but I put my details to the agents again, so hopefully I will hear from them also.

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

Too many factors to consider here. My sons nanny gets paid R3500 a month, she works 8-5. Did not want to mess around with cost-to-company to justify a smaller salary. She has to pay for her own transport and clothes.

She does not really eat much food or use my phone much - I guess she costs an extra R400 on top of what we pay her.

We considered sending my son to a full time creche and getting a maid in once a week. Did our sums and it came up more than the nanny.

 

[DJ...]

I would like to however give some feedback to you DJ... following your advice below:


My wife and I decided to take your wise advice and gave our maid notice on 30 April. We explained to her your opinion on her being essentially ripped off by us and she'd be better off finding a better paying job.

She didn't mince her words...she was devastated and said she was bringing home more than any of her friends who are all employed in a domestic capacity. She worked the month of May as her notice period and she began seeking employment immediately from the 1st May.

She left at end May without finding a job yet. We've heard from her this last week and she's still not found a job - she's asked for her job back with us. She has been offered employment at less than she was earning with us, but has turned it down...for now. She says she will have no choice but to take it if nothing better comes along, but by the end of this month she'll not have earned a cent except for the extra one week retrenchment pay we gave her.

You had such good ideas for her, is it possible that I can give her your telephone number and you share some of your bright idea's with her...I am sure that'll make her feel a whole lot better and will put food in ker kids mouthes.

Yeah, sure. I believe this bullschit story as much as I believe in the tooth fairy. And my advice to you was to pay her more. If this ridiculous story is even remotely true, then you ignored all of my previous posts and made up your own mind - you're just using one of my posts borne out of frustration in debating with you, to justify a really stupid decision. The fact that I said she might be happier working for someone else does not mean that you had to go ahead and fire her. If you did, I hope she takes you to the cleaners through the CCMA. But the story sounds like a whole heap of absurd drivel.

Who in their right mind goes and fires their maid because someone on the internet suggested that their maid might be happier earning a higher salary with someone else? If you did this during these financial times, then all you've done is put this woman and her family out on the street for the sake of proving a point to someone on the big bad interwebs, and that makes you one helluva prat. We could have agreed to disagree - instead (again, if this story is true) you didn't take my advice to discuss paying her R200/day as you state she costs you, you just fired her. Fscking pathetic.

I'm curious as to how this conversation with her went: "Er, some guy on the net reckons we don't pay you enough. So we have to fire you. Sorry, not our fault. The internet man suggested we do many, many things, instead we're going to ignore that all and just fire you. It's easier for me and I get to blame the internet-man as well. So I feel fine about it"

I am glad you've admitted that the real reason behind wanting to pay more is not for their benefit but an effort by you to buy their honesty.

Er, no. I would rather pay a premium for an honest, hard worker. The same rule applies in all walks of business...

 

[Serqet]

Hahahhahaha i think i just split a side! Gamer you're one helluva comedian dude!