Regulations lift pay of househelps to Sh10,954

New regulations setting the minimum wage for domestic workers have been published in what could make house-helps the preserve of a few rich households, if homes stick to the law.

The regulations set the minimum monthly salaries an employer can pay a domestic worker in every major town, compulsory weekly off days and overtime compensation.

Labour secretary Raychelle Omamo has in a legal notice granted domestic workers in Nairobi a 12 per cent pay increase, effectively pushing their monthly salary to Sh10,954 from Sh9,781 last year.

The workers are also allowed a mandatory weekly 48- hour break.

Failure to grant the break leaves the employer with the punitive option of paying the househelp at the rate of Sh527 per day or an additional Sh4,216 a month.

That, together with the basic salary of Sh10,954, means domestic workers who do not get two days off a week will earn not less than Sh15,170 a month – nearly matching the pay of many low-cadre workers in government and the private sector.

These rates also apply to those working in Kisumu and Mombasa while those in other urban centres will be required to pay Sh10,107 monthly.
Any employer found in breach of the new rules risks serving a jail term of three months or a fine of Sh50,000 or both.

Regulations setting minimum pay for domestic workers were introduced in 2011 to align the country with the stringent International Labour Organisation (ILO) proposals, aimed at improving the working conditions for those employed in the informal economy.

READ: New laws lift cost of house helps beyond many homes

Kenya has an estimated two million domestic workers, mostly based in towns. The country has some of the weakest laws governing employment of domestic workers such as househelps and gardeners.

The Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotel, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (Kudheiha) said a small share of domestic workers – mostly working for diplomatic missions, government agencies, and wealthy households – are paid the minimum wage.

Most households pay domestic workers a salary of less than Sh5,000. The bulk of the workers are drawn from rural areas and have only basic education or are illiterate.

Employers will also be required to make contributions to the statutory pension (NSSF) scheme and medical cover (NHIF) of Sh200 and Sh400 per month respectively.

Messengers, day watchmen and cleaners will be paid the same rate as domestic workers. The missing link with this kind of regulation is enforcement by labour officials, a move that has seen households continue paying domestic workers as little as Sh3,000 per month.

The minimum wage regulations will also affect other cadres of staff like secretaries, messengers, and watchmen whose pay was increased by 12 per cent by President Uhuru Kenyatta on May 1, ending a two-year spell of static wages for the country’s lowest paid workers.

The last increment was in 2013, about two months after Mr Kenyatta got into office, and saw the minimum wage go up 14 per cent.

Inflation was touted as the biggest factor that occasioned calls for an increment, with the Central Organisation of Trade Unions saying the cost of living called for increased earnings to cushion the lowest earning workers.

A night watchman in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu will receive a monthly minimum pay of Sh12,221 for eight-hours work and Sh110 for every extra hour worked.