Questionnaire
ROBERTA JOHNSTON
T H E BLACK SASH questionnaire on domes- tic servants was intended mainly as an aware- ness exercise for members. It was drawn u p by t h e committee, all of them amateurs, ami it is consequently, very difficult to analyse in a business-like manner. Many questions winch should have been asked were omitted and others were not adequate for the purpose in- tended.
As far as living-out employees were con- cerned, no analysis at all cau be attempted be- cause of t h e lack of information. T h e n u m - ber of hours worked per week was not divided into days, so a man working 18 hours per week may have worked over two or three days.
making his travelling time longer, his travel co*ts greater if t h e latter.
T h e question of whether this was t h e em- ployee's only employment or whether he work- ed for other employers was also omitted. Per- haps at some future time, a further question- naire on casual and living-out employees could
be attempted.
T h e response to the questionnaire was most heartening, i n that 134 forms were returned completed.
# 6 members employed no servants at a l l :
# 27 members employed both living-in and living-out servants;
# 80 members employed living-in servants o n l y ;
# 2 1 members employed living-nut serv- ants onlv,
A total of 180 living-in servants is employ- ed by 107 employers and most of t h e follow-
ing refers to these servants only.
Conditions of employment Hours of employment — 9,3 hours.
This figure is a straight average of t h e hours recorded on t h e questionnaires, but normal servation of conditions of domestic service surely show that t h e vast majority of servants
who live in a r e at least available for work for much longer periods each day.
In households where there is a working mother and small children this figure is obvi- ously not correct. In any event, it is well- nigh impossible to determine correctly the working hours of a n y housewife or domestic servant.
Overtime
Practically all employers compensated their servants in some way for overtime worked (ex- tra time off, extra money e t c . ) .
Salaries
T h e actual salaries paid are tabulated be- low. I n all fairness it must be stated that the
"Below R I O " applied only to servants work- ing on farms and their employers appended the information that this was cash wages only
— whole families were supplied with food and shelter.
Below RIO per month Between
R l l a n d R 2 0 p e r R21 and R30 R26 and R30 R 3 1 a n d R 3 5 R36 and R40 R41 and R45 R46 and R50 R51 and R55 R56 and R60 R61and R65
R66 and R70
6 employees month 3
9 26 32 47 31 14 3
2 2
J
180 employees
3,3%
1,7%
5,0 % 14,4%
17.8%
2 6 , 1 % 17,2%
7,8%
1,7%
1,1%
3,3%
0.6%
F
Furniture, etc.
Most rooms appeared to be fairly well equip- ped with essentials although about 20 per cent do not have burglarproofing where it appears to be necessary. Many servants ( 2 5 per cent) do not have easy chairs i n their rooms and this was qualified by many employers with the in- formation that the room was too small to get one in. A very few servants had no heating at all. Some employers supplied en extra The Black Sash, August, 1974 Die Swart Serp, Augustus 1974
room or enclosed courtyard as a dining room or sitting room for their employees, many pro- vided radios and some newspapers.
Medical aid, etc.
All employers who returned the question- naire said they paid for medical attention for their employees when they were ill. Three employers paid medical aid insurance.
14 employers subscribed to pension funds for their servants;
25 employers subscribed to savings ac- counts ;
5 employers were already paying pensions to ex-servants.
Food
About 10 per cent of employers shared all food, n o t h i n g was locked up and their serv- ants could h e l p themselves to what was there.
Generally, food provided constituted a balanc- ed, nutritious diet, with employers placing special emphasis throughout on proteins ( m e a t , beans, e t c . ) . Nearly all employers pro- vided fruit, vegetables, milk etc. every dav.
Leave
Every servant in the survey got paid annual leave, a m i n i m u m of two weeks although most employers gave a month or more. Only about 20 per cent of employers gave the employee money or food when h e went on leave. Many obviously had never thought about it and a frequent comment was " h u t he goes h o m e " . It must he pointed out that domestic, living- in employees' 'salaries are based on full board and that servants have to eat during their leave, even if they go home.
Public holidays
Very few employers gave their domestic ser- vants every punlic holiday, some gave none at all. others occasionally did.
Education
This was a difficult category to analyse as some employers j u s t left it blank. Whether this meant that their servants had no educa- tion or whether the employer did not know
the standard, we do not know, but it would appear that the former is the case.
"Don't know" (probably illiterate)
No education at all Just literate
Standards 1 and 2 Standard 3
4 5 6
7, 8 and 9 Matriculation
17 employees 3.1
3(1
27 8 19 14 25 7
2
180 employes
Employees
1details of home address, age, etc.
Members were asked to indicate whether they knew about their servants' families, h o m e circumstances, schooling of children, etc. and
it is with some scepticism t h a t we note that all employers knew every detail about their employees. However, they certainly know
now.
General concern
Most employers have an almost neurotic concern about their employees' welfare, the schooling of their children etc. T h i s concern goes far beyond anything previously noted, and hears no resemblance to the normal wel- fare activities of firms employing White staff.
At the same time, it is almost beyond be- lief that the following emerged from the ques- t i o n n a i r e :
Employed present sahiry for 50 years R 3 5 per month over 20 years R22 per month
25 years R 3 5 ( m a l e s e r ) 20 years R35 per m o n t h
These are only a few examples, there are others almost as had. So many employers help children with school fees, look after sick relatives, send food, etc. Even more employ- ers treat their employees very well insofar as fond, accommodation, entertainment, trans- port on days off, etc. is concerned.
But a large n u m b e r of employers seem to carry a load of guilt out of all proportion to the facts. Some apologise because their serv- ants call them " m a d a m " and "master". The
normal employee-employer contract of labour for agreed wages appears to be considered im- moral, and the assumption must be that this guilt is engendered by too low wages, and, more especially, considerations of colour.
The Black Sash, August, 197U Die Swart Serp, Augustus 197U-
