The legal position of domestic workers in South Africa

Abstract

Until recently, the legal position of domestic workers in South Africa could be described as a relic of the nineteenth century, when the contract of employment and the common law defined the employer-employee relationship. The legal rules which regulate the relationship between the domestic worker and her employer are examined. International labour standards and the legal position of domestic workers in other countries are considered. Cognisance is taken of the social phenomenon which finds domestic workers at the convergence of three lines along which inequality is generated, namely gender, race and class. Furthermore, the unique economic forces at play in this sector are examined. The law will be stretched to its limits when attempting to resolve what is, essentially, a socio-economic problem. However, the working lives of a million people are at stake. The legislature has a constitutional, political and moral responsibility to attend to reform in this sector as a matter of urgency.