New Laws To Increase Monthly Pay For Domestic Workers

House helps ensure our homes are clean, our lawns have been mowed and they stay up late making sure we are well fed and tucked in bed. Some people treat their maids, gardeners and watchmen as family but others see them as people who are just in their lives to do chores and odds jobs around the house.

What we forget is that the jobs they do are not simple take for example a watchman who stays up all night risking being attacked by robbers or thugs to ensure our safety. They sacrifice comfort to make us feel safe. Have you ever thought about these domestic workers for a moment? They have needs to meet, bills to pay and a personal life to maintain but we still go ahead and pay them peanuts. Fortunately, new laws have been set to ensure domestic workers get better pay.

The regulations set the minimum monthly pay domestic workers can receive monthly, compulsory off days and overtime compensation. The workers are allowed to get 48 hrs off every week earning a basic salary of KShs 10,954 and Kshs 15,170 for those who do not get two days break, thus matching the payments of many low cadre workers in the government and private sector. The payment rates are to be implemented immediately in all major cities in the country. Employers are also required to contribute to the statutory pension scheme NSSF and medical cover at the NHIF for Sh200 and Kshs 400 respectively.

Van and car drivers, printing machine operators, bakery and confessionary machine operators, shop assistants, copy typists will earn a minimum monthly salary of Kshs 14,784; on the other hand heavy vehicle drivers will earn a minimum of Kshs 24,719 while miners, waiters, turn boys and cooks will earn KShs 11,831 per month.

Failure to act on this law, one risks being jailed for three months, getting slapped with a KShs 50,000 fine or both. The regulations which were introduced in 2011 aim at improving the working conditions for those employed in the grey economy.

The legal notice that was issued, orders a 12 percent salary increment to all domestic workers including watchmen and cleaners from KShs 9,781 per month to Kshs 10,954. However, domestic workers away from major urban areas will earn a minimum of KShs 5,844 per month.

The Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) advises all members to adhere to these new regulations as gazetted.