More households dropping domestic workers

The latest data from the Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor survey (OMSIM) shows that more South African households are choosing to do without a domestic worker to save money each month.

The findings are based on interviews with over 1,500 households, gauging the financial attitudes and behaviour of the country’s working population.

OMSIM reveals that approximately half of the population feels high or overwhelming levels of stress in the current economic climate. Notably, middle-income earners in the survey – households that earn between R25,000 and R40,000 a month – expressed the highest levels of stress.

To combat these stress levels, households have shifted budgets significantly over the last two years, with more emphasis on saving while also turning to penny-pinching and keeping tighter control on their monthly spending.

Households listed several tactics they employed to manage expenditure each month, including becoming more savvy shoppers, switching brands or looking for cheaper entertainment packages.

Consumer behaviour data from consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion in Q2 showed that households focused on cutting back on discretionary spending over the past three months.

Changes to household budget in the last three months

Around 30% of households also indicated that they would cut down on and move away from domestic help around the home. Historically, Old Mutual’s OMSIM has shown that domestic workers are often one of the first monthly household expenses to get cut when tough financial times hit.

Over the last two years, this sector has come under immense pressure, which has continued into 2022. Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for Q1 2022 showed that hiring for domestic workers dropped significantly.

The QLFS shows that the number of domestic workers in the country decreased from 949,000 in Q4 2021 to 808,000 workers in Q1 2022 – a shock 14.9 percentage point decrease quarter-on-quarter.

While this trend can partly be attributed to seasonal changes, the increased cost of living at the start of 2022 has also likely led to increased retrenchment as domestic workers are seen as a luxury for most.

Domestic workers were effectively blocked from working during the country’s highest levels of lockdown in 2020. In addition, a number of households retrenched domestic workers, citing concerns around costs.

Data published by cleaning service SweepSouth in June 2021 showed that an estimated 20% of domestic workers lost their job due to the pandemic. While this figure rebounded significantly as lockdown restrictions were eased, the latest data points to increased fragility in the sector.

Compounding matters, the domestic worker’s sector has long been identified as problematic when it comes to compliance with labour laws, with workers still paid lower wages and subjected to abuse and exploitation.

A report published by Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance and Solidarity highlighted human rights violations against live-in domestic workers in South Africa, describing how employers and sectional title complexes regularly impose rules that directly violate workers’ constitutional rights, including rights to privacy, freedom of movement, family life, and adequate housing.

The government has made moves to formalise the sector, including introducing regulations that allow domestic workers to qualify for benefits under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act.

The National Minimum Wage applicable to domestic workers has also normalised to the national limit, with the rate set to increase in 2023.

Read: Here’s how many domestic workers there are in South Africa