| | Domestic service has long been a major sector of the SA labour market, for black women particularly, but the government has only lately begun to consider stipulating minimum employment conditions in this sphere. Union formation among domestic workers on any significant scale is also only a recent phenomenon. This article takes a preliminary look at domestic service from various angles - conceptual, historical and contemporary. A new slant is provided on the existing theoretical discussion of domestic labour, for domestic workers are here clearly distinguished from housewives. The peculiar way in which race, class and gender have all shaped the character of domestic service in SA is stressed at the outset and the way various races and both sexes moved into a sometimes out of domestic service is illustrated. The authors conclude that the current trend away from the long-established pattern of live-in servants may well aid political mobilisation of formerly isolated domestic workers. The Wiehahn Commission, the Riekert Commission, SAIRR, SACTU as well as historical overview are all discussed. |
