Abstract:
When the South African authorities decided, in the 1970's, to recognize statutorily
other Black workers who were engaged in other spheres of employment as employees, domestic workers were excluded from all Industrial Legislation. This resulted from the fact that domestic work, as an occupation, had been excluded from the definition of an employee. It is estimated that over one million people are engaged in this service, comprising eleven percent of overall employment in the informal sector of the South African economy. This significantly large sector of the labour market performs its work under some of the most oppressive working conditions and such exploitation is unchallenged, as it has been noted that some domestic workers do not sign contracts of employment with their employers on appointment, which can lead to insecurity in the domestic worker sector.
The purpose of this research was to determine the efficiency of the contract of
employment and its effect on the job security of domestic workers. Through a
theoretical foundation, a number of studies have advocated that the contract of employment can be trusted to be the perfect instrument in securing jobs in the domestic sector. A survey was carried out for measuring job security. The research
instruments used for data collection from 203 domestic workers, were interviews and
questionnaires. The SPSS program was used to analyze the data. The results of the empirical study are presented and discussed in detail. Findings of this study revealed,
that the majority of domestic workers don't have contracts of employment while a very small percentage of domestic workers do have contracts. Conclusions drawn, indicated that domestic workers who have signed contracts, enjoy reasonable conditions of employment and employment benefits than those without contracts.
Recommendations based on this study are that
the government encourages a very strong Trade Union Movement in the domestic sector services. The Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and/or the
Department of Labour facilitates annual workshops for employers of domestic
workers. The CCMA, Trade Unions and/or the Department of labour facilitate training
programmes for domestic workers. The government makes it a binding norm, for every employer in the domestic sector, to conclude a contract of employment with his/her domestic worker and furnish such employee with a copy of the contract, regardless of the nature of services rendered by employee. Ongoing research on many aspects of domestic workers will enhance better conditions of employment in making the lawmakers aware of other hidden
agendas that require attendance in the domestic sector.
