Johannesburg - Social media, particularly, Twitter, should be included in the list of Wonders of the World. For it is here that you can find the good, the bad and the ugly, not to mention the downright, outrageous.
This week, an ad by the Du Plessis family set Twitter ablaze and tongues wagging.
The job advertisement stated they were looking for a house manager, au pair, tutor and personal assistant.
“A professional extension of our home and family”, the ad continued.
“The successful candidate would have to be a graduate and must be able to drive and cook breakfast, lunch and dinner of the family, run errands and make sure that their admin is up to date.
“This person must also ensure that the family’ car is neat and washed every week and drive the family’s staff to mall in the afternoons. In between all of this, the successful candidate will also keep the house clean, and help the family’s 10-year-old with homework and studying.”
But what caused the furore was a requirement that the person must be able to bake rusks and take the Jack Russel for regular check-ups to the vet. And the salary you ask? R22 000.00 per month. The ad received 3 398 “likes” and 881 re-tweets.
One Twitter user, Gugu “Princess Teacher” Dlamini, asked: “Is this family looking for another mom? Yoh”. Another, Granti M'coola, commented: “Idk (I don’t know) about you but I'd take this job if i wasn't a man. Plus they're around the corner I practically do half of these things anyway, might as well do it for money. They definitely don’t want anyone who had children or husband. Your life must be totally devoted to them.”
Another tweet by @TiffanyAmara simply asked: “Bake rusks? Drive staff? Surely they looking for a super woman?”, while @KgarebeKuye candidly asked: “Do these people know that there is only 24 hours in a day?”
@naothab wrote: “Yoooo… and when is chaile time? Bake rusks! When? Before or after walking Sporty and driving staff to the mall? Why rusks vele? Who bakes rusks. Bathong.”
But there were just as many serious tweets on the matter.
@kolorMeYellow tweeted that most house helpers do this job for less than R3 000 in black homes.
“Job description is very clear. Salary is very good. Call it 2nd mom or house manager whoever gets the job will be compensated well.”
Another, @MissNannyJay tweeted: “To me, this reinforces how much unrecognised and unpaid labour women and caregivers actually do. Nobody flinches or acknowledges that it's work and has a monetary value that gives men the opportunity to be part of the formal economy. This is why the Basic Income Grant is a must.”