Chris' Thoughts on "Cheap Labour"

Chris’s thoughts on "Cheap Labor"

One of the many things that we are aware of is the cheap price of labor, particularly house staff. While we have been here we have all lived in homes that have house staff, some who are paid $2 a pay (or even less). Sounds like a good deal, but is it fair. What you don’t always realize is that there is often a lot more behind it.

There is no social security in Malawi, so a job is a valuable thing. To add to it often staff are provided housing with their employment in the house allotment (often a separate structure). Further some employers then pay for the schooling of the children of their staff member, and in one case this has continued to cover University fees as a doctor none the less. If you multiply this by 5 or 10 staff (house maid, gardener, driver, two guards etc) the costs can add up. And importantly these people are not living the subsistence life style and are not on the poverty line, and the employer is building capacity in the family and the country. Food for thought.




Costs of some items

300ml bottle of coke – 40MK (35cents)
Loaf of bread – 99MK (90cents)
Litre of petrol – 200.1 MK ( $1.50)