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.Private LawLL.M
