In South Africa maids are paid less than £10 a day - it's slave labour but it's justified for the reason above.
And in some places, they'lll earn £40-£50 an hour, which is more than I earn. Depends on the service, the country, the employer and many, many factors.
Stating a worst-case figure doesn't invalidate what I said. wonkeydonkey did say the maid and gardener were well treated by their employers, so I'm assuming that means they weren't treated like slave labour!
In Zambia I once gave someone $10 dollars for giving me a hand and you would think he'd just won the lottery! He went off skipping all the way down the street...
It may not seem like much to us but you can't judge by our standards, everything is relative.
While other salaries in SA are admittedly not as high as ours - and the exchange rate is different - maids wages are still outgrageously low.
It's not a situation that I believe can continue - and one that I can't see being resolved either... a complete mess.
And in some places, they'lll earn £40-£50 an hour, which is more than I earn. Depends on the service, the country, the employer and many, many factors.
Stating a worst-case figure doesn't invalidate what I said. wonkeydonkey did say the maid and gardener were well treated by their employers, so I'm assuming that means they weren't treated like slave labour!
Which places?
I'm talking about maids in South Africa (in response to the post I quoted)
I'm talking about maids in South Africa (in response to the post I quoted)
You quoted my post. Wonkeydonkey (whom I quoted) said that the maid and gardener were treated well, which I assumed to mean they weren't being ripped off and being forced to live in a hovel for a pittence.
You quoted my post. Wonkeydonkey (whom I quoted) said that the maid and gardener were treated well, which I assumed to mean they weren't being ripped off and being forced to live in a hovel for a pittence.
You can be respecful to your staff and still exploit them.
I had a maid when I lived there - I treated her well - but I was aware of the pittance we were paying her for the work she did (and we were told that we were paying way above the rate and should not have been doing so)
When we lived in Malaysia we had a live in house-keeper / nanny but unlike a lot of other families out there who see their house keepers as second class citizens we made sure that she had a nice room and her own private space and that she ate dinner with us as part of the family. It did spoil me a bit for later on in life and admittedly I'm now a bit of a messy pup but she was great.
I keep thinking about getting a cleaner to come around twice a week to do the jobs I hate. The only problem is that I would be so embarassed about leaving my house in a mess that I'd spend hours tidying up before the cleaner came - so defeating the object of getting a cleaner
I keep thinking about getting a cleaner to come around twice a week to do the jobs I hate. The only problem is that I would be so embarassed about leaving my house in a mess that I'd spend hours tidying up before the cleaner came - so defeating the object of getting a cleaner
I would never have that problem. I am pathologically messy, and trying to change seems to make it worse.
I would love someone to do my ironing. I hate ironing.
I also wish that kids asked to wash cars for a small sum of money, and i NEVER wash my car and i dont live near a car wash. I would gladly pay some snotty nosed brat a few quid to wash it every other weekend.
I am happy with cleaning the house myself, and my hubby does the gardening, so everything else is kinda covered.
We have a cleaner in once a week for 5 hours because we both work long hours.
She's actually pretty useless and breaks most of the things she touches but she's honest and reliable. We just look on it as helping someone out who would probably be otherwise unemployable!:D
My mum has a gardener, cleaner and a live in nanny for my brother. My dad has a gardener, a housekeeper and a live in maid. Having had live in nannies/aupairs when I was growing up I would feel perfectly comfortable around live in staff, cleaners etc and would have them when I'm older, if I could afford to.
In Zambia I once gave someone $10 dollars for giving me a hand and you would think he'd just won the lottery! He went off skipping all the way down the street...
It may not seem like much to us but you can't judge by our standards, everything is relative.
Exactly. My grandparents have a lot of live in domestic staff in Nigeria and their wages would seem very little to most people here, but relative to Nigeria they get paid very well and the jobs come with the benefits of getting a free concrete house, excellent security, secure employment and my grandparents pay for their medical care if they need it and help with their children/grandchildren's school fees.
I keep thinking about getting a cleaner to come around twice a week to do the jobs I hate. The only problem is that I would be so embarassed about leaving my house in a mess that I'd spend hours tidying up before the cleaner came - so defeating the object of getting a cleaner
A friend's wife has offered to do it for £8/hr.
Tidying up beforehand doesn't defeat the object of having having a cleaner.
My cleaner does 3 hours a week and I want him to spend that 3 hours CLEANING not putting things away.
I always spend an hour or so the night before my cleaner comes just putting away stuff and clearing the sink and surfaces and picking up anything on the floor etc. so he can have a clear run through and clean the sink and wash the floors and vaccuum etc. without wasting time moving things first.
We had a cleaner and a gardener for a while, I managed to break my leg quite badly and the wife was working long hours so it made sense to get someone around to do the work.
But I'm too thoroughly middle class to feel comfortable around staff.
I employ a limited staff comprising of a PA, bodyguard, driver, cleaner, laundry person, chef, gardener, nanny, personal trainer and masseuse. They are wonderful people. I don't know what I'd do without them.
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Generally they are...
...they are also the lucky ones, people are queueing up in some of these countries for jobs like that.
And in some places, they'lll earn £40-£50 an hour, which is more than I earn. Depends on the service, the country, the employer and many, many factors.
Stating a worst-case figure doesn't invalidate what I said. wonkeydonkey did say the maid and gardener were well treated by their employers, so I'm assuming that means they weren't treated like slave labour!
While other salaries in SA are admittedly not as high as ours - and the exchange rate is different - maids wages are still outgrageously low.
It's not a situation that I believe can continue - and one that I can't see being resolved either... a complete mess.
Which places?
I'm talking about maids in South Africa (in response to the post I quoted)
You quoted my post. Wonkeydonkey (whom I quoted) said that the maid and gardener were treated well, which I assumed to mean they weren't being ripped off and being forced to live in a hovel for a pittence.
You can be respecful to your staff and still exploit them.
I had a maid when I lived there - I treated her well - but I was aware of the pittance we were paying her for the work she did (and we were told that we were paying way above the rate and should not have been doing so)
We don't have any paid help now. I work at home so I just do the housework myself.
In my small house there's no room and not much need for staff. We don't have that much money, either.
My friend has a cleaner they are quite rich though, I wouldn't mind to be somebodys cleaner but I dont think I would like my own.
A friend's wife has offered to do it for £8/hr.
I would never have that problem. I am pathologically messy, and trying to change seems to make it worse.
I also wish that kids asked to wash cars for a small sum of money, and i NEVER wash my car and i dont live near a car wash. I would gladly pay some snotty nosed brat a few quid to wash it every other weekend.
I am happy with cleaning the house myself, and my hubby does the gardening, so everything else is kinda covered.
She's actually pretty useless and breaks most of the things she touches but she's honest and reliable. We just look on it as helping someone out who would probably be otherwise unemployable!:D
Exactly. My grandparents have a lot of live in domestic staff in Nigeria and their wages would seem very little to most people here, but relative to Nigeria they get paid very well and the jobs come with the benefits of getting a free concrete house, excellent security, secure employment and my grandparents pay for their medical care if they need it and help with their children/grandchildren's school fees.
My cleaner does 3 hours a week and I want him to spend that 3 hours CLEANING not putting things away.
I always spend an hour or so the night before my cleaner comes just putting away stuff and clearing the sink and surfaces and picking up anything on the floor etc. so he can have a clear run through and clean the sink and wash the floors and vaccuum etc. without wasting time moving things first.
I also have a gardener who comes once a week and the most blessed of all, a young girl who comes in weekly to do the ironing.
You almost have the full set then:D?
But I'm too thoroughly middle class to feel comfortable around staff.