Domestic worker

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A poster featuring an illustration of a stereotypical uniformed maid

A domestic worker, or simply domestic, is a servant who works within their employer's household. Servants are distinguishable from serfs or slaves in that they are compensated, that is, they must receive payment (and, following labour reforms in the 20th Century, benefits) for their work. They are also free to leave their employment at any time, although socio-economic conditions and laws relating to working in a foreign country may make that difficult.

In large households, there can be a large number of domestic workers doing different jobs, often as part of an elaborate hierarchy.

A butler is a senior domestic worker, whose duties traditionally included handling the wines of the household and some management of the other servants. Female domestic workers are often called maids.

Domestic workers perform typical domestic chores such as cooking, ironing, washing, cleaning the house, buying foods and drinks, accompanying the female head of the household for grocery shopping, taking the family dog for a walk, and taking care of the children. In some countries, maids replace the role of a nurse in taking care of the elderly and people with disabilities. Maids often are expected to work at least fifteen hours per day.

1 Domestic service
2 Domestic Service in the post-Industrial era
3 Domestic workers in uniform
4 Notable domestic workers
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Domestic service

Domestic service, or the employment of people for wages in their employer's residence, is also sometimes simply called "service". It evolved into a hierarchical system in various countries at various times.

Prior to the labour reforms of the 20th Century, servants had no protection in law. The only real advantage that service provided was the provision of meals and accommodation in addition to the modest wage. Also, service was an apprentice system; there was room for advancement through the ranks. However, it was also perilous, particularly for females, as there was no protection from unscrupulous employers or members of the family.

In Britain this system peaked towards the close of the Victorian Era, perhaps reaching its most complicated and rigidly structured state during the Edwardian period, which reflected the limited social mobility of the time. Today organisations such as Kalayaan support the growing number of migrant domestic workers.

[edit] Domestic Service in the post-Industrial era

[edit] Europe and North America

Domestic service reached its height during the Edwardian and Victorian ages in Great Britain and the Gilded Age in the United States.

The emancipation of middle-class women in the late 20th century and their entry into the professional workforce meant that middle-class households were deprived of an important source of unpaid domestic labour. This has given rise to a sharp increase in the employment of cleaners and nannies. That said, the number of households employing full-time domestic service (other than for child care, which is typically done via day care rather than by a live-in nanny) has reduced greatly.

[edit] Domestic service workers from abroad

Many countries and some industries, such as cruise lines, import domestic workers from abroad, usually poorer countries, through recruitment agencies and brokers because their own nationals are no longer obliged or inclined to work in underpaid, difficult or exploitive jobs. This includes most Middle Eastern countries, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. For most of these countries, the number of domestic workers run into the hundreds of thousands. There are at least one million domestic workers in Saudi Arabia.

Major sources of domestic workers include the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Ethiopia. Taiwan also imports domestic workers from Vietnam and Mongolia.

[edit] Domestic service in other nations

In other places, such as Latin America, India, Africa and mainland China, most domestic workers are from the same country in which they work. They may commute from home though they are usually "live-in" domestics, meaning they receive room and board as part of their salaries, sometimes they only receive room and board (see au pair). All these countries have very large differences in the income of urban and rural households, and between different socio-economic classes.

In Brazil, domestic workers must be hired under a registered contract and have most of the rights of any other workers, which includes a minimum wage, limited working hours, remunerated vacancies and a remunerated day-off per week. It is not uncommon, however, to hire servants without registering them. Since servants come almost always from the lower, uneducated classes, they sometimes ignore their rights, especially in the rural zone. Nevertheless, it is not unusual that domestics employed without a proper contract sue their employers to get compensation from abuses.

Although there are some from mainland China who work in the United States and Europe as domestic staff, the vast majority of domestic workers in mainland China are from China's rural areas who are employed by urban families. Because of the large gap between urban and rural incomes, and the lack of employment opportunities in the countryside, even an ordinary middle class urban family can afford to employ a full time live-in servant.

[edit] Domestic workers in uniform

Many employers require their domestic workers wear a "uniform" or other "domestic workers clothes" when being in their employers home. This is seldom the case in places such as Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong where small middle-class families usually hire only one worker.

The uniform is usually simple, even back in the 20th century. Female servants would wear long, plain, usually white dresses, and male servants and butlers would wear something from a simple suit, down to a white shirt, often with tie, and knickers.