DATA COLLECTION METHOD

The study employed the qualitative research approach in both collecting and analyzing data using both primary and secondary data. In terms of secondary data, as noted by Babbie (1986:25), this technique uses secondary data or archival information which consists of documents, reports, statistics, manuscripts and other written oral or visual materials. In this case, the Researcher’s secondary data involved content analysis of relevant documentation such as trade union documents which included the Memorandum of Understanding entered into with Domestic Workers Agencies, the Code of Conduct for Domestic Workers, and newspaper clippings on the revised minimum wage pronouncement as well as legislative

54 instruments such as the Minimum Wage Act (Domestic Workers) Order – 2011. Others included Ministry of Labour Inspection Reports, Government publications on informal sector employment and ILO reports on domestic workers and minimum wages.

Primary data on the other hand was obtained using the qualitative approach. This data was collected from the field between 18^th June 2012 and 8^th July 2012. A qualitative interview according to Babbie and Mouton (2001:289) is essentially a conversation in which the interviewer establishes a general direction for the conversation and pursues specific topics raised by the respondent. Ideally, the respondent does most of the talking. These interviews were conducted with the identified research participants, i.e. domestic workers, trade union, employment agencies, employers and the Ministry of Labour.

The Qualitative method proved extremely useful for the researcher as it allowed the gathering of very vital information aside from the interview guides as the respondents were free to express themselves, their perceptions and opinions on the research topic without constraint.

The researcher deliberately did not produce the printed interview guide during interviews with the domestic workers as the first set of respondents had appeared unsettled by the question and answer session. In subsequent interviews, the researcher merely introduced the themes of the interview guide and allowed the respondents to engage the researcher in a free flowing conversation about their experiences, current situations, their aspirations and sometimes their fears.

55 The interviews were conducted in the following manner:

a. In-depth Interviews

A set of structured questions were used for face to face interviews with 28 domestic workers, of these, 18 female and 10 male for the purposes of capturing a sociological profile of the domestic workers. This profile among others included biographical details, employment history, and household profiles.

Furthermore, the researcher used semi structured questions during the said interviews to gain a deeper insight on the experiences and challenges of domestic workers and their working conditions. The domestic workers were not comfortable with the researcher’s use of the tape recorder during the interviews and thus it was not used during these sessions. Instead, the researcher wrote down the responses in a field work journal.

Due to the nature of the working hours of the domestic workers, the interviews were randomly conducted in the communities (Mtendere and Kalingalinga) from where the domestic workers resided as opposed to their workplaces. The researcher was also fortunate to interview live-in domestic workers who were available on two public holidays that fell within the field work period. The researcher spent entire days in the two compounds during the duration of the field work as the respondents did not often stick with agreed meeting times. The researcher utilised the in between moments to digest the full extent of the nature of livelihoods in the two compounds by randomly speaking to either dependants at a respondents home or their neighbours.

56 b. Key Informant Interviews

Face to face interviews using semi-structured questions were used to interview the Trade Union officials, Government – Labour Department officials and Employment Agencies.

These interviews were vital in order to understand their work both in protecting the domestic workers and their perceptions of the domestic workers sector in general.

Additionally, the researcher obtained the views of the domestic worker employers on their experiences with domestic workers and compliance with the minimum wage legislation.

These interviews were conducted at the places of work of the respective respondents as this proved both cost effective and convenient for the respondents who met the researcher mostly during their lunch breaks. The researcher had ready access to the trade union officials having been a member of the trade union to which the trade union was affiliated and also based on past work conducted involving the domestic workers and consequently the trade union. As such the researcher was welcomed as an insider and was able to obtain key insights beyond the scope of the interview guide.

Lastly, at the Ministry of Labour’s Department of Labour where the 3 interviews with the Ministry officials were conducted, the researcher was availed an opportunity to sit in as an observer during some cases of complaints brought in by domestic workers in order to gain a first- hand insight into how the Department dealt with Domestic Workers disputes. This experience proved extremely useful for the study as it availed the researcher an empirical illustration of the nature of disputes reported to the Department and also how the domestic workers and employers related to each other in addition to the reception accorded to both by the Ministry Officials in the process of aiding the resolution of the disputes.

57 The figure (3.1) below indicates the summary of interviews conducted for the study.