Come check us out if you are interested – ask for Blue Sticker Training!

(library pictured above)

I had a conversation on the phone this morning about a woman who found her domestic worker on Gumtree – an ad placed by the domestic herself – and took her on, without references and without any guarantees.  She invited the woman into her home as a sleep-in employee, and introduced the lady to her children – only to have her work there briefly before running away in middle of the night with R1000.

Another case saw a child-minder dislocate the arm of the employers 2 month year old daughter through incorrect handling.  Another woman hired a domestic worker from the farmlands of the Eastern Cape and later found out that the domestic had invited her 4 year old son to urinate in a cup when he needed the bathroom.  Another hired a prostitute unwittingly, who would don a wig and gold teeth in the evenings before leaving the home – only to return later, substantially richer.  One mother took the nanny and her small child to the petting zoo.  The nanny saw a rat scuttling along the outside of the area where the friendly bunnies and baby chickens were.  She picked up the rat and gave it to the child to pet.  Needless to say, the rat was not keen, and it bit the child.  The child was rushed to hospital.

These are real-life domestic worker horror stories from South Africa.  And they are inevitable in a country where the effects of Apartheid are still felt by 24% of our population, who are unemployed and undereducated.  Many of the black women of South Africa never finished school, it seems, and never had any form of tertiary education.  So they get jobs as domestic workers.

When I walk through the taxi ranks and bus stations of Cape Town, handing out Blue Sticker Training fliers, 8 out of 10 black ladies that I speak to are domestic workers.  The other two are kitchen staff or receptionists.

And those that ARE domestic workers are usually untrained.  They tend to learn as they go, breaking glasses and burning shirts.  Their cultural upbringing is different from the white western paradigm. They don’t really know how to take care of the children and they frequently overstep invisible boundaries that they are unaware of (for example, when I was a child our nanny/domestic worker believed very seriously in corporal punishment).

We here at Blue Sticker Training believe the way to remedy this problem is through skills development – giving extra education and training to the blue collar working force of South Africa.  They are the invisible women who are earning an average of just R150 a day, and often supporting reams of extended family, while living from hand to mouth in a shack over an hour from their place of work.

• They don’t know how to clean properly – we guide them through the household chores and chemicals, painstakingly explaining their tasks to them, while helping them plan and manage their time.
• They don’t know how to wash, iron and fold – we take them step by step through the techniques, showing them how to wash, iron, fold and pack all types of clothing perfectly.
• They don’t understand household security – we explain the need for a secure house at all times and deal with fire safety, alarm systems, household callers and all threats to your home and possessions.
• They live from one day to the next, with no extra cash – we give them budgeting and saving lessons, help them choose a personal bank account, and teach them how to start a small business.
• They have never had anyone see them as more than domestic workers – we believe in them and in their potential.  We guide them into more.

Above we have supplied you with a link to the sample contract for Domestic Workers in South Africa, as detailed by the Department of Labour.

For more information about legal or household issues relating to your Domestic Worker, please give us a call on +(27)824905467 for a free consultation.

We dealt with employer/employee rights in the first module of session 1 – which provided a good platform to explain to the ladies how the employer is allowed to react when they do not fulfill their contracts (be it a verbal or written contract).  Many of the ladies on the course had been sent by their employers simply because they were not fulfilling their contractual obligations, and needed to be spoken to and counselled into a proper service attitude.  Other ladies had come because of their good attitudes and hunger to learn.  Either way, the mornings work-shopping was helpful all around, with both groups seeing that attitude and performance play a vital role in their work experiences.

During the afternoon we went through the Cleaning Components and Techniques module, where we discussed how best to clean, and which products to use in which environments.  We also dealt with product consumption and wastage – making sure the ladies understand how to manage their working environments effectively.  Next we dealt with task, chemical and equipment lists, and how to schedule their work loads to ensure maximum productivity.

Towards the end of the day did a Dreaming workshop where we discussed their life stories and dreams for the future. Many of the women were deeply moved by their fellow’s stories, as each took turns to share dreams and aspirations with the class.

During this last week’s session, we focussed on safety principals for the workplace – discussing issues such as how to answer the phone, who to call in the case of an emergency, taking messages and how to react in the case of various emergency situations.  This was helpful on multiple levels, as we discussed the stories of various women who had experienced fires in the townships.  We talked about how to best take action in fire scenarios, and they shared how they had reacted in the past.

We also had a drawing and drama exercise where the women drew renditions of unsafe situations they had previously found themselves in, and how they would change their behaviours today.

On the whole the most encouraging thing I have noticed during the course is the confidence that being on this training has given these women.  They seem full of life and excited to be given personal attention!  I’ve realized how little one-on-one attention these ladies have been given, perhaps none at all, and how deeply it impacts them as people to know that they are being developed because someone cares about them and their futures.  It’s a beautiful thing to witness and take part in.

- Andrea Bester

Session 1 – 21st of June!

What a privilege to train these women and see their self-confidence increase as they gain skills for their workplace.

We are now deep into the forest of our accreditation treasure hunt, so to speak, and should reap some rewards in not too long.  We’ll keep you updated.

The course content itself is all based on SETA Unit standards and is thus comprehensive and pitch perfect for the learners themselves.

We will be covering content such as:

Cleaning Components
Environment, Tools and Chemicals
Tasks List
Chemicals and Equipment Lists
Cleaning principals and end of shift duties
Safety in the working environment
Power Supplies
Fire extinguishing
Water stop valves
Child and pet safety
How to prevent accidents
Household Security
Security features in the home
Receiving visitors
How to react and who to call
Taking written/oral messages
Quality in Record Keeping
Problem Solving & Quality Improvement
Record/supplies keeping
Managing Personal Finances
Payslips
Needs and Wants
Impulse buying
Saving, Fixed and Variable Expenses
Comparing Prices
Budgeting
Personal Banking
New Business Ideas
Pride versus Service
Home versus Work
Self worth & Confidence
Relationship Building
Resentment versus Motivation

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Marketing Material for our next course!