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Cape Town - On Friday, News24 asked users if they had medical aid for their pets, as well as if they had medical aid for their domestic workers.
This following a claim by EFF leader Julius Malema that people in South Africa have more cover for their pets than their domestics.
We received 4 163 responses to our questionnaire.
Only 2.2% of respondents, 87 users, said they cover the medical aid costs for their domestic worker. 8.6% of respondents, 353 users, said they had medical aid for their pets.
We also asked them why.
This is how the results break down:
Medical aid for domestic workers
- Of the 3 917 respondents who did not cover their domestic worker, 43% (1 704 users) said they did not cover their domestic worker because it was not their responsibility.
- A further 1 207 (30%) said they did not cover their domestic worker because it was too expensive, while 5.5% said they had never thought about it. Another 821 users (20%) said they had other reasons for not covering.
- 91% of respondents said they would be willing to contribute toward their domestic worker's medical aid if the figure was R500 or less. 7% said they would pay between R501-R1 000, with the remaining 2% willing to pay more than that.
Medical aid for pets
- Of the 8.6% who have medical cover for their pets, the average user paid R608 a month for one pet.
- The figure people paid for one pet ranged from R99 a month, to R7 000 a month.
- The total sum spent between all 353 users on all of their pets (taking into account that users may have more than one pet covered), amounted to R601 526 per month.
For a collection of quotes as to why some users are reluctant to pay for their domestic worker's medical aid, read: 'Pets are family, domestic workers are employees'
- Read more: How much do you pay your domestic worker? News24 users have their say
