Poor 'housegirls' spin millions

By DANN OKOTH

They sprout everywhere in the city by each passing day - many of them barely makeshift stalls (vibandas) in estates’ corridors and city backstreets.

With signposts announcing various services—boldly patched at their doorstep, the diminutive ventures can now claim a fair share of the city’s annual turnover.

The so-called house-help bureaus, spread across urban centres in the country are thriving businesses—never mind most are not registered officially by the Government or recognised by the umbrella body, Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (Kudheiha).

Inevitably, the bureaus are now conduits for financial empowerment for many enterprising youth in the city, who have caped on the high demand for house-helps to create jobs for themselves and others.

Meet Crispin Odhiambo, a high school drop-out who now mints thousands of shillings every month—thanks to the thriving domestic workers’ industry.

The makeshift office in Umoja II estate, which also doubles up as a barbershop offers few clues as to what the young man is really worth.

A closer scrutiny, however, reveals that the almost threadbare unit is a cash cow in its own right.

"I have 250 girls in my fold who I’ve recruited and channeled to customers across the city," boasts Odhiambo, who appears a bit older than his 22 years.

Income per month

"I earn at least Sh75,000 from them every month — that is if all of them remit money at the end each month," he adds.

He makes between Sh400,000 to Sh700,000 a year, depending on market demand and availability and trustworthiness of the girls.

Entrepreneurs like Odhiambo, it emerged, are capitalising on the spoils of a demanding modern lifestyles where most people cannot find time to look for their own housemaids.

"Most people in the city are too busy to find time to look for a housemaid. That is where we come in," he says confidently.

"Many people are also keen to get people they can trust with their households and they are prepared to pay the price for the right candidate," he adds.

Trust, explains Odhiambo, is the most important element in the business, adding that they rely on trust to keep customers coming.

"That is why we scruntinise the girls thoroughly before we put them on our waiting list," he says.

"We check their background for any criminal activities or any other bad behaviour."

Ideally, the transaction involves the client calling or visiting the bureau to enquire about the availability of a house girl. The agent would ask them what type of girl or age they desire.

A few candidates will be paraded for the client to choose from—their backgrounds having carefully evaluated.

The client would then deposit between Sh1,500 to 3,000 as agent fee before they are allowed to take the girl with them.

Terms of contract

"The client has the right to claim back their money if within two weeks they are not satisfied with the work of the house help or if something else happens like running away," he explains.

For every successful transaction, the agent is entitled to 10 to 20 per cent of the maids pay every month.

"The successful clients remit about Sh300 to Sh1,200 to the agency at the end of every month as part of the contract agreement," Odhiambo says.

His returns are healthy because he virtually spends nothing in terms of overheads or in recurring expenditure.

"As you can see, I don’t pay rent and the few employees I have earn their money through commission," he says.

He has a band of young men numbering about seven who scour the city for girls and women looking for work.

"Other times, I send them to the rural areas to look for girls who are stranded at home for luck of school fees or any other reason and would like to work in the city as maids," he reveals.

"However, we should not be misunderstood for exploiting young girls. Our policy is that the girl has to be over 18 years and must have consented to join the trade," he says.

But the job is not without challenges, as Kevin Maina, who operates the business in Ngara area in the city explains.

"We have some clients who are very bad," he says. "First they insist on securing young girls they can manipulate. Then they refuse to pay them their dues and even confiscate their Identity Cards," he adds.

He says such clients make their work difficult because they ruin their relationship with their supply agents.

"We rely on a network of people who supply the girls for us. But once a girl is mistreated and word reaches this network, then we are in trouble," he says.

"Many people who survive solely on this business are keen to keep a clean record. As an agency, we cannot afford to be blemished," he adds.

Other employers, he says, also mistreat the maid and pay them low salaries making the girls unable to remit dues to the agency.

According to International Labour Organisation (ILO), some domestic workers in Kenya are paid s little as Sh2,000 per month.

"The argument is that they eat, sleep and get other necessities from the employer," the organisation says.

"Add that to the bad treatment some receive and domestic work in Kenya is a poor motivator, which does nothing for the self esteem. It’s one of the reasons their turnover is so high," it adds.

The ILO recently set rules that the lowest paid domestic help in Kenya should earn Sh7,586 in major towns with off duty time of 48 hours and benefits like overtime compensation.

Professional staff

The institutions and bureaus that supply domestic help, ILO observes, may have to do more than recruit and supply, but train such that prospective employers may get professional staff for their homes.

"Granted, it will cease being a demeaning occupation for those who have completed their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE)," it notes.

Maina, himself a major player in the industry, earning anything between Sh43,000 and 60,000 per month, says that with organisations like Kudheiah, more preoccupied with the plight of hotel workers and bar maids, such bureaus should be more empowered to negotiate better terms for their members.

"We are no longer just conduits for house maids, but also take care of the rights of many people in the informal sector and we need to be empowered to do more," he says.

But with the sector largely unregulated, it would be difficult for the major trade unions to recognise them. Once recognised by the Government, the tax man will also be lurking nearby to tap into their largely un-taxed revenue.

In the meantime though, many people, mainly young men continue to reap handsomely from a sector that has apparently been neglected by mainstream service industry.