South African Labour Research Articles

Employee Free Choice or Employee Forged Choice? Race in the Mirror of Exclusionary Hierarchy

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is arguably the most transformative piece of labor legislation to come before Congress since the enactment of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA). Putting the potential impact of the EFCA in historical perspective, one commentator contends that the NLRA marked the culmination of a systematic effort of the Progressive movement that dominated so much of American intellectual life during the first third of the twentieth century. As it was widely acknowledged at the time, the NLRA was revolutionary in its implications for American Labor Law. Less widely recognized were the adverse effects of this and other New Deal statutes on people of color. Readily available evidence shows that President Roosevelt’s insistence on raising the price of labor (1) increased unemployment and human suffering, and (2) also widened the unemployment gap between blacks and whites. Today, this wide, if not widening, unemployment gap remains in effect. Properly appreciated, the consequences of the New Deal for African Americans persist as an important and under-examined issue. It is likely that neither Progressive Era labor legislation nor contemporary efforts to further transform the labor market operate in the best interest of African American citizens. Provoked by the assertion that labor faces a legal crisis and the claim that the statutory right to organize is a sham, energized by the contention that the union movement ought to reinvent itself as a robust engine of collective insurgency against globalization, class-based injustice, and asserted increasing disparities in income, labor union advocates and hierarchs have offered a number of ideas that include the necessity of acting like a genuine rights movement, encouraging open source unionism, and creating alternative (nonunion) worker organizations.One of the newest attempts to transform labor relations is the EFCA. The first to disappear under the EFCA would be a system of union democracy whereby unions could only obtain the rights of exclusive representation for firms if they could prevail in a secret-ballot election. Second, the EFCA would eliminate the necessity of a freely negotiated collective bargaining agreement between management and labor and instead substitute compulsory arbitration. While some labor union advocates contend that law ought to be conceived of as a vehicle to democratize the workplace by redistributing power in labor markets in favor of workers, while concurrently demolishing hierarchical command structures that entrench gender, race and class lines, this proposal would likely expand labor hierarchy, labor market cartelization and diminish the employment prospects of racial minorities. As such, the EFCA is marked by contradiction. This paper deploys Critical Race Reformist theory, economics and apartheid-era South African labor history in order to show that rather than embracing freedom for workers, eliminating poverty, and expanding opportunities for all, this proposal would likely invert such goals and instead operate consistently with the record of exclusion and subordination tied to American Progressivism and the labor movement.

Die Impak En Grondwetlikheid Van Die Reg Om Te Staak Met Betrekking Tot Noodsaaklike Dienste – 'n Vergelykende Studie

PER 2009(2) The article shows that South Africa's current labour legislation (especially regarding essential services) is in theory good, but that it is applied and enforced poorly in spite of the provisions contained in the Labour Relations Act and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996. This article critically considers the application of and necessity for the right to strike, especially regarding employees that are employed in an essential service. The South African position is examined and compared to other countries around the world, but the focus is mainly on the United Kingdom. This became evident in the 2007 public workers' strike in which many essential services employees took part. The United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, France and Kenya all have different ways of dealing with strikes and essential services. Some of these countries' approaches are similar to South Africa's, but in each there is some difference that could be useful in the South African situation. Through these comparisons it becomes clear that the right to strike is important in many countries around the world, but that each country's essential services (or services that can be classified as essential) are equally important. Every country places at the very least some limitation on the right of essential services employees to strike. In conclusion this article states that the South African Labour Law is not perfect and can be improved by means of comparison. This improvement is of vital importance to the lives, health and personal safety of every individual in the country.

Employee perceptions of the management of cultural diversity and workplace transformation

This study assesses managerial perceptions of the management of cultural diversity and workplace transformation in three production companies in Gauteng. A sample comprising 668 employees was drawn from a population of 1 259 (53% response rate) using simple random sampling and data were collected through self-developed questionnaires and personal interviews. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicate that whilst the South African Transformation (SAT) Agenda has propelled change in the political and economic spheres, similar developments have not been realised in the South African labour market. Hence, based on the findings, recommendations are made to enhance the management of cultural diversity and workplace transformation, and the need for urgent government intervention, through legislative amendments, is emphasised.

A tale of weak enforcement

This article firstappeared in the South AfricanLabour Bulletin www.salabourbulletin.org.za A tale of weak enforcement ANDRES BEZUIDENHOUT is aresearcher in the Sociology of Work Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand What motivates companies to relocate production across Southern Africanborders? South decentralised and industry Lesotho. African operate firms Andries zones in in former and the Bezuidenhout garment in apartheid Swaziland industry operate informer apartheid decentralised zones andinSwaziland andLesotho. Andries Bezuidenhout investigated labour lawenforcement inthese areas andwhy some South African employers don't escape stringent labour lawsandmove to lessregulated industrial areasacross the border. Inthe early 2000s, partly because of the Africa Growth andOpportunities Act (Agoa), the United States of America, Lesotho andSwaziland saw aninflux ofclothing manufacturers. Another reason for this wasthat the South African rand, towhich Lesotho andSwaziland's currencies aretied, wasfavourable tothe USdollar atthe time. InLesotho 50,000 new jobswere created, and inSwaziland 40,000. Mostly young women work inthese factories, producing merchandise such asjeansand T-shirts for the USmarket. These aremassive orders with lowmargins, but high profits because of the sizeof the orders. But the end of Agoa put these factories under pressure. Also, the rand nearly doubling in value tothe dollar since the early 2000scame asa shock toexporters. Lesotho andSwaziland lost around 20,000 jobseachas manufactures relocated toChina and Vietnam. This empty factory spaceisoften filled by relocated South African operations. Why doSouth African clothing manufacturers move toLesotho andSwaziland? For the past year, Ihave been visiting these two countries with Soeren Jeppesen, a colleague from the Copenhagen Business School, inanattempt to understand this. These areimpressions based onfactory visits andinterviews with managers, trade unions, workers andgovernment officials. The story ismore complex than just South African firms leaving because of'high wages' and'good labour laws', tocountries where labour canbe'exploited'. Before wegoto Lesotho andSwaziland, wehave tomake a detour. Westart inKwaZulu-Natal. Ezakheni, South Africa TheEzakheni industrial park near Ladysmith wassetupinthe1980s toattract manufacturing operations tothe area. Itisa prime example ofapartheid's 'industrial decentralisation' strategy. Firms received subsidies from the state, aswell astailor-made factory spaceatlow rents. Apart from relocations by clothing manufacturers from elsewhere inSouth Africa, Ezakheni attracted a considerable number of Taiwanese companies. For the apartheid state this wasintended tostem the flow of Africans tocities such as Durban andJohannesburg. For employers, itmeant lower wages than urban areas. Intraditional clothing manufacturing hubs, such as Durban andCape Town, the South African Clothing and Textiles Workers' Union, (Sactwu), waswinning recognition agreements tonegotiate better wages. But places like Ezakheni hadanother advantage for employers. Itwasinthe Bantustan of KwaZulu, where South African labour lawdid not apply. Workers were often forced tojoin the weak United Workers' Union ofSouth Africa, which wasaffiliated toInkatha. Soinaddition tolower wages, unions could not operate freely. So,inthe 1980sthere wasa shift ofgarment factories from urban torural areassuch as Ezakheni andPhuthadithjaba inthe Eastern Free State nearby. This trend continued into the 1990s, when industrial council agreements did not yet cover there areas. South Africa's transition todemocracy andnew labour statutes changed the situation. Bargaining council agreements now set minimum wages andconditions for formerly excluded areas, such as Ezakheni. Unions can operate freely andthe council opened anoffice innearby Ladysmith toassist employers and employees, and toinspect minimum conditions setby collective agreements. Could itbethe case,weasked ourselves, that these companies will now relocate toplaces like Lesotho andSwaziland? Inboth these countries, with many Asian firms departing, there aretrained andexperienced workers who arewilling towork for much lower wages than inSouth Africa. Maputsoe, Lesotho There aretwo unions organising inthe garment industry inLesotho, the Lesotho Clothing and Allied Workers' Union and the Factory and Allied Workers' Union. Wages inLesotho areregulated by a collective agreement ataround R700 (€61)a month. Conditions infactories alsomassively improved after GAP, a LosAngeles company that sources most ofitsproducts from Lesotho, implemented a codeofconduct towhich their suppliers have tosubscribe. This coderequires suppliers toenforce the labour laws of the country, aswell asother minimum standards. GAP appointed three fulltime inspectors toinspect factories inLesotho. Most companies feel positive about this code, and that inspectors aresupportive intheir approach, rather than punitive. TheLabour Commissioner alsoreported that shehada good relationship with GAP'S inspectors. TheDepartment ofLabour, however, isclearly under resourced. There areonly eight inspectors tocover the whole country, with not enough vehicles. Officials' low wages make the system vulnerable tobribery. Wealsosawthe extent...

The Challenges Facing the South African Labour Movement

There is a growing body of literature on the role and impact of unions in the developing world, and on their ability to mobilize members against a background of neo-liberal reforms. The South African trade union movement represents a source of inspiration to organized labour worldwide, but has faced many challenges over the years. This article engages with debates on union solidarity and worker democracy, and draws on the findings of a nationwide survey of members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) to explore the extent of fragmentation according to gender, age, skill level and ethnicity. The survey reveals regular participation in union affairs, democratic accountability, participation in collective action, and a strong commitment to the labour movement, but variation in levels of engagement between categories of union members indicates significant implications for union policy and practice.

Trade Unions and Democracy in South Africa: Union Organizational Challenges and Solidarities in a Time of Transformation

AbstractBased on a nationwide survey, this article focuses on the perceptions of Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) members on two of the central issues that have dominated debates on the South African labour movement: the advisability of COSATU's Alliance with the African National Congress (ANC) and the extent of internal union democracy. The survey revealed that the ANC‐Alliance continues to enjoy mass support, while internal democracy remains robust. At the same time, the federation faces the challenges of coping with — and contesting — neoliberal reforms, retaining and re‐energizing rank and file in the post‐apartheid era, and in reaching out to potential members in the informal sector and other areas of insecure work.

Incoherence in the South African labour market for intermediate skills

This article is concerned with the production and employment of technically skilled labour at the intermediate level in South Africa. Three differing labour market pathways to intermediate skilling are identified. These are: the traditional apprenticeship route, the new ‘Learnerships’ pathway (similar to the ‘modern apprenticeship’ schemes adopted in the UK) and finally, further education and training college programmes in engineering and related technical fields. It is argued that in sharp contrast to the highly structured conditions of the artisanal ‘occupational labour market’ of yesteryear, the three training pathways that operate in South Africa today possess few linkages with each other or with employment. In addition, as access to opportunities in the labour market have opened up politically for black South Africans since the advent of democracy in 1994, so access to employment after training has weakened for this social grouping because of the lack of structured linkages between these pathways and employment, and more generally, because of the failure of the ‘new South Africa’ to create meaningful pathways from school to work.

Gaining Influence but Losing Power? COSATU Members and the Democratic Transformation of South Africa1

This paper draws on the results of a third leg of a longitudinal survey of COSATU members run in 2004 by the Sociology of Work Unit (SWOP) and the Democracy and Governance unit of the Human Science Research Council in South Africa and compares these with results of the first two legs of the survey (1994 and 1998). The study shows a remarkable continuity of the militant union traditions within the union federation. Furthermore, COSATU members support the involvement of labour in institutions of the new democracy, including parliament and municipal councils because they believe that these provide them with opportunities to extract benefits and make new gains. For similar reasons support for the tripartite alliance led by the ruling African National Congress remains strong 10 years after the inauguration of democracy. However, an examination of the social characteristics of the membership of COSATU shows that the federation represents an ever-diminishing section of the working class and that it is making no headway in organizing workers in the growing precarious forms of work – contract, outsourced, casual and part-time workers. Furthermore, the federation's membership is increasingly becoming more skilled, more educated and older. In light of the above, the paper asks, does the survey data suggest that COSATU has been gaining political influence but losing organizational power during the democratic transition? Are we about to witness the marginalization of labour or is a process of union revitalization likely in South Africa? The paper concludes by arguing that both processes have occurred and that it is too early to suggest that the South African labour movement has been completely marginalized during the transition to democracy.

South African trade unions and globalisation: going for the ‘high road’, getting stuck on the ‘low road’

In this paper, we assess the South African labour movement's engagement with globalisation in the 1990s and its implications for labour politics in the following decade. Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews with key informants, we show that, although the labour movement had become committed to a ‘high road’, post-Keynesian restructuring vision by 1993, its representatives failed to pursue that vision consistently in the economic policy negotiations that preceded the historic 1994 democratic election. In fact, labour delegates actually agreed to several policy changes that were more in line with a ‘low road’, neo-liberal approach, with dramatic implications for workers in some sectors. The inability of labour's engagement with globalisation to benefit the working class has led to a long search for a new basis for union strategy.

REVISITING INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT AND SEGMENTATION IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN LABOUR MARKET

AbstractThis study revisits the definition of informal employment, and it investigates the puzzle of high open unemployment co‐existing with relatively limited informal employment in South Africa. We estimate earnings equations using data from the September 2004 Labour Force Survey and present evidence of persistent earnings differentials not only between formal and informal employment, but also between types of informal employment. These persistent earnings differentials are suggestive of complex segmentation in the South African labour market and challenge the presentation of informal employment as an undifferentiated residual with no barriers to entry or mobility.

The Rise and Decline of the Democratic Organizational Culture in the South African Labor Movement, 1973 to 2000

From 1973 to 2000, the emerging black union movement in South Africa made efforts to construct a collectivist and democratic organizational culture. The development and decline of this culture correspond with three phases in the history of the black trade union movement. Political and economic changes in the past fifteen years have affected this culture, specifically the unions' political engagement and new pressures arising out of globalization. However, although it is true that union democracy in the South African labor movement is under stress, it is premature to conclude that this labor movement has become oligarchic.

Challenging cheap-labour theory: Natal and Transvaal coal miners, ca 1890–1950

In the first half of the twentieth century, South Africa's two main coal-producing provinces, Natal and the Transvaal, were regarded as having separate industries. Comparing the two, the article shows that their geology, markets, ownership and organization were distinctive. In contrast, the patterns of labour struggles were alike, reflecting labour processes, racial divisions, and legal and ideological frameworks that were similar. The historiography of South African mining labour has emphasized the role of black migrants, who ‘oscillated’ between the mines and the rural areas from where they originated and to which they retired. While structuralist analyses argued that migrancy was the bedrock of a cheap-labour system that underpinned white power, leading social historians stressed that migrants were primarily rural men. The account presented here rejects the thrust of both positions, showing that a high proportion of coal miners settled around the mines. More of them would have done so had this been permitted, and the same applies to Africans working on the gold mines. Given that cheap-labour theory strengthens the exceptionalism that runs through much South African history, rejecting it can open up new possibilities for comparative study. In passing, the article reveals that black workers participated in the militant 1913 strike by the Witwatersrand's white mine workers.

Integration and Social Identity of Foreign African Professionals in South African Organisations

This study explored integration and social identity of foreign African nationals in the South African workplace. The study also explored the implications of the Employment Equity Act of 2006 as interpreted by foreign African nationals within the contexts of integration and social identity. The study interviewed eight men and two women working in South Africa. The average age of the participants was 37 years. Data on integration and social identity of African professionals working in South Africa were collected through interviews and the data were analysed qualitatively. The findings of the study were that the South African labour legislation on employment equity was perceived as discriminatory to foreign African nationals. The professional foreign African workers perceived less xenophobia and racism directed at them that could be experienced by others in nonprofessional positions.

Effects of Domestic Workers Act in South Africa: A steep road to recognition

abstract Although domestic workers comprise a significant portion of the working class, they have hardly been mentioned in South African labour force surveys and discussions in the past—despite the fact that more than one million people are employed as domestic workers in private households. Women dominate this sector of the labour market and this may have contributed to shunning of the domestic sector. It was with the introduction of the Sectoral Determination Seven of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act that the country began to pay more attention and in turn debate issues related to the sector. Despite domestic workers' favourable reception of the Act, they reveal a range of reactions to its clauses. This perspective reports on a study that sought to find out domestic workers' knowledge of the Act, how it has impacted on their lives and if they had begun to reap benefits from it. The focus of the perspective is limited to 28 randomly selected private households' domestic workers in the eThekwini municipality studied over a period of a year for 43 days.

The shape of demand for high-level agricultural skills in the South African labour market

A supply of high-level agricultural skills is foundational to the South African agricultural sector's capacity to improve the quality and range of agricultural products and services so as to support small agricultural producers, meet domestic needs for food security and increase the competitiveness of local products on global agricultural markets. Concerns about the coexistence of graduate unemployment and skills shortages in the agricultural sector prompt the question: What is the shape of demand for high-level agricultural skills in the South African labour market? To answer this, the authors conducted 83 interviews with respondents in private, public and non-governmental organisations involved in agriculture. The findings reveal a rising demand for high-level agricultural skills among farmers, farm managers and foremen; in research and product development; in the sales and marketing functions of firms supplying primary agriculture; in government entities across a wide range of occupations; and in public and private sector R&D. 1Respectively, Senior Researcher and Research Director, Education, Science and Skills Development (ESSD) Programme, Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), Pretoria. The research on which this article is based was undertaken for the Department of Agriculture, and the findings presented in the article form part of an earlier report: A study on graduate outputs for agricultural qualifications in SAQA accredited higher education institutions over a ten year period (Paterson et al., 2005).

’n Teologies-etiese beoordeling van regstellende aksie

A theological ethical judgment of affirmative action In the period directly before and after 1994 much consideration was given to the position of the South African labour market. It was clear that some form of affirmative action had to be instituted. In this article different ways in which affirmative action has been applied since 1994 are studied, as well as the effects thereof. Affirmative action has made it possible for many workers to occupy positions that they otherwise would not have received. Other workers have been negatively affected by affirmative action. How should this be judged? In this article a number of Biblical principles regarding labour are posed. The current application of affirmative action is judged against these principles.

Public Expenditure and Poverty Alleviation in the South African Labour Market

The paper utilises a class of poverty measures to determine the potential cost to the fiscus, in 1995 Rands, of alleviating poverty in South Africa. The simulations are undertaken for both households and individuals in the society, by the different covariates of poverty. The study finds that the commitment required from the state to reduce poverty, is fairly modest, albeit within the realm of very strict assumptions. In addition, the paper illustrates that individual and household level data imparts differential poverty information, which is important for policy prescriptions. Finally, it is evident that for state targeting purposes, the nature of household poverty is fairly easily reduced to a small sub-group of labour market defined household types.

Correlates of Vulnerability in the South African Labour Market

Using the October Household Survey of 1995 (OHS95), this paper seeks to understand the determinants of indigence in the South African labour market. To this end the study presents a description of the labour market, focusing on how covariates such as race, gender, education and location help explain the poverty observed in the labour market. A key innovation of the paper is the application of traditionally household poverty measures to individuals in the labour market. Hence through utilising cumulative distribution functions drawn from the Foster, Greer, Thorbecke (FGT) class of poverty measures, we are able to understand the distribution of earnings within a stochastic dominance framework. Such distribution functions are then derived for a series of labour market categories ranging from employment by race to employment by sector and occupation. In addition, by setting two individual poverty lines, specific measures of poverty are also determined according to the different labour market cohorts. Some of the key results of the study are that farm workers and household domestic workers constitute the most vulnerable individuals amongst the employed. In addition, apart from race, gender and education are crucial determinants of low or zero earnings. Rural labour markets also surface as a key component of poverty in the labour force. Finally, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that a different labour market seems to be operating for Africans and Coloureds on the one hand, and Asians and Whites on the other.

The Post-Apartheid Labour Market: 1995-2004

This paper seeks to investigate some of the changes that have occurred within the South African labour market in the post-apartheid era between 1995 and 2004 and some of the challenges the labour market presents in the attainment of shared growth, updating previous work by Bhorat and Oosthuizen (2004). The two main sources of data are the October Household Survey of 1995 and the Labour Force Survey of September 2004. The paper has found that while the unemployment rate has risen over the period, total employment has increased, bringing into question the notion of jobless growth. Unemployment, however, continues to be concentrated in specific demographically and geographically defined groups, most notably rural dwellers, Africans, females, the poorly educated and the young and, for many, represents a long-term problem. Disturbingly, unemployment has continued to grow rapidly amongst relatively educated members of the labour force, despite the skills shortage faced by the country. An individual's probability of being employed is found to depend on his or her race, gender, age, location and level of education. However, it appears that gender plays less of a role in determining the probability of employment in 2004 than in 1995, although this is not true of race.

Women in the South African Labour Market, 1995-2005

Recent research has found that changing policies and attitudes and improved economic performance have impacted on the labour market dynamics for women and the increased feminisation of the South African labour force since the mid-1990s has been well documented. While employment has increased more rapidly for women than for men over the period, it has been suggested that women are overrepresented in low-income, less secure employment. In addition, insufficient jobs were created to absorb the additional entrants to the labour market and as a result women are also overrepresented amongst the unemployed. The objective of this report is to provide an overview of the changes in the status of women in the South African labour market between 1995 and 2005. The report finds that the feminisation of the South African labour force between 1995 and 2005 has been driven specifically by greater numbers of African women entering the labour force. Women benefited more from the increased demand for labour over the period than men, accounting for more than half of the increase in employment, with the bulk accruing to African women. In line with previous research it is found that the majority of women find jobs as unskilled and low-paid Elementary Workers. Female unemployment rates increased for all covariates, but African women and young women in particular struggled to find employment. When returns to employment are considered, it is clear that discrimination by gender and race remains. When real mean monthly earnings in 2001 and 2005 are compared it is found that women of all race groups earned less than men in both years, with the exception of Coloureds in 2005. African women, specifically, are undoubtedly the most vulnerable participants in the labour force, particularly if they are young and poorly educated. Even those African women who did find employment continue to earn considerably less than their White counterparts, with very large differences especially at the lower skills levels.