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Botswana: New Era for Domestic Workers
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
28 March 2008
Posted to the web 31 March 2008
Dan Mosekaphofu
Gaborone
Their contribution to the socio - economic affairs of the society cannot be overlooked or ignored. They may be viewed as the bedrock of many families as they would know the needs of the household and the corners of the house much better than the owners.
They are literally running families as they do everything from the cooking to even looking after the children. In some instances the children perceive them as their 'mothers' for they are the familiar faces and often they come to their rescue in times of need. These are the maids or housekeepers as they are affectionately called.
They are in the same league with the herd boys or farm workers. Like the maids, they have the advantage of knowing about the well being of the animals that are in their care better than the owners. They would know the exact number of the animals and diagnose the needs of the animals. They have become friends to these animals and the animals know them and their voices as opposed to their master's. The conditions that continue to define the working environment of these very important individuals has at times been described as nothing more than just slavery and servitude. The recent announcement of the new law that will govern and regulate the employment and working conditions of these people have invited mixed reactions. The 26-year- old Mompoloki Matubako, a cobbler says that, "Although I do not condone the exploitation of these people, I feel that the set minimum wages are a bit high and out of reach for many people."
Matubako maintains that, "I can't imagine how someone who earns in the region of P600 - P700 will be able to part with about P504. How are they going to pay rent and buy food?" The 40-year-old Mmapaula Marumo of Chadibe shares his sentiments. "We should not lose sight of the fact that most of our farmers are subsistence farmers and mostly are unemployed old men. How do we expect them to afford to pay the P408 every month?" she asked.
Marumo feels that, " We should have taken into account. "People's wages when setting the minimum wage just like what happens when people pay tax. Those in the top brackets should be made to pay more. We should have adopted the Pay As you Earn approach. That would have made things a bit fair for everyone."
She argues that, "This law is likely to cost a lot of people their jobs. People are going to decide to terminate the employment of maids as they surely can't afford to pay the minimum wage."
She also highlighted the fact that the Tswana lifestyle that categorise the work of looking after someone's cattle as more of helping each other rather than as formal employment should have been taken into account. "Such jobs added value to the social cohesion and unity in the community. That is why at times people were not paid in monetary terms but by cattle or goats. Ba ne ne ba tshawaelwa dikgomo as a way of empowering them. That was acceptable as a way of payment," she said.
For people like the 28- year- old Moreri Motsumi of Tonota, this law is a welcome move. " This law will surely help to restore the dignity and pride that goes along with duties commonly referred to as domestic work. People will now treat these people as human beings and their ill-treatment will be a thing of the past," he says optimistically. He also noted that, " The law will one way or the other help to attract young people to go into these kind of jobs. They have all along shunned this type of jobs because of the low remuneration and lack of legal protection. This will help to reduce the high rate of unemployment. It will also help to stop the influx of Zimbabweans who were now dominating this sector."
Motsumi note that, " As this law will be binding on the part of the employer, cases of non-payment of wages at the cattle post will be substantially reduced." The 30-year-old Mothanka Masilo of Sefhare concurs with Motsumi's conviction. "This law will usher in a new dawn for those unfortunate but very important workers. It will make us to accord them the respect that they deserve."
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Masilo argues that, "The set minimum wages are somehow not bad considering the nature of these jobs. The successful implementation and enforcement of this law will help stop the barbaric act in which people were paid with bags of maize meal and second-hand clothes."
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| Copyright © 2008 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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