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SweepSouth, a cleaning service with digital reservation, has released a new report showing how much domestic workers in South Africa are earning right now.
The report is compiled from nearly 5,000 responses, mostly from women (97%) with an even division between South Africans (48%) and Zimbabweans (49%).
The data shows not only a dramatic drop in income due to the pandemic, but a continuing trend before the lockdown of domestic workers who do not earn enough to cover their most basic needs, the group said.
While the majority of workers earned more than R2,500 (63%) before closing, only a small minority (14%) earned more than R4,000, which is generally considered a living wage.
“The establishment of a national minimum wage was a remarkable achievement, but it is clear that it is becoming increasingly inadequate to cover even the minimum of household expenses. This has forced many families into debt that often spirals out of control.
“With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent shutdown, the majority of workers fell below the R2,500 threshold (74%). Since their costs have shown no signs of abating, this has put phenomenal pressure on already struggling households. “
The survey data shows that:
- The average SweepSouth domestic worker wins R3,359
- The average non-SweepSouth domestic worker wins R2,814
- The minimum wage is R2 740 (15 rand an hour).
SweepSouth noted a significant increase in “underemployment.” In 2019, 73% of those surveyed worked less than 8 hours a day. This has increased to 80% in 2020.
This may show a tendency for middle-class households to reduce working hours to increase affordability, yet a shortened duration has very little impact on the fixed costs incurred by a worker to perform their work on a given day .
The rising cost of living
While an increasing number of domestic workers are facing unemployment and stagnant wages, SweepSouth data shows a sharp increase (44%) in the cost of living for domestic workers during the Covid-19 pandemic compared to 2019.
This is in stark contrast to annual consumer price inflation figures reported by Stats SA for June 2020 of 2.2%, the group said.
The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group (PEJD) Household Affordability Index found a significantly larger increase in basic expenses of 7.8% in July 2020, but this still falls short of the findings of this report.
Total average monthly basic expenses stood at R4,225 per month (34% 2019: R3,137 per month). This is slightly lower than the R4,423 expected to meet the basic needs of a household of 4 as reported in the PEJD Household Affordability Index.
“Against the annual trend of inflation are data and airtime expenses. The decline in data costs is likely related to increased government regulation in the sector following a December 2019 Competition Commission ruling.
“This shows the significant power that government has to reduce costs for the poor and the working class,” SweepSouth said.
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