The return of the labour process: race, skill and technology in South African labour studies

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-32
Author(s):  
Bridget Kenny ◽  
Edward Webster
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
Sociology Of Work ◽  
Class Politics ◽  
Racial Capitalism ◽  
Labour Process ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Process Studies ◽  
New Forms Of Work

From its beginnings, the sociology of work in South Africa has been preoccupied with three enduring themes: skill/deskilling, racism in the workplace, and Fordism/racial Fordism. With the advent of democracy in the 1990s there was a shift away from studying the labour process. We argue in this article that there has been a return to taking seriously the ways new forms of work in this postcolonial context pose new questions to the global study of work. A central preoccupation in the study of work has been the racialised reinscription of post-apartheid workplace orders, now in the context of new dynamics of externalisation and casualisation of employment. Another important theme is the shift away from studies of the formal sector workplace and toward the broader implications of the precarianisation and informalisation of labour. This focus coincided with the growth of new social movements by mostly unemployed (black) township residents around state services provision. This includes studies on working-class politics more broadly, with attention focusing on questions of organising and mobilising. More recently this interest in precarious labour has grown into studies of the gig economy, returning to earlier themes of technology and skill, as well as new forms of waged labour and wagelessness. We argue for the ongoing salience of labour process studies for understanding the specific issues of the securing and obscuring of value, and through the articulations of ‘racial capitalism’ offered by the long tradition of labour studies in South Africa.

Formalities of Poverty: Thinking about Social Assistance in Neoliberal South Africa

2007 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Preliminary Analysis ◽  
Social Assistance ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
Institutional Power ◽  
New Development

Abstract:In Marginal Gains (2004), Jane Guyer traces the logic of African socioeconomic practices that have long confounded attempts by modern states to impose what she terms “formalization.” Nowhere is the tension between pragmatically “informal” economic life and putatively “formal” state structures more evident than in the domain of poverty interventions, which typically aim to bring state institutional power to bear precisely on those who are most excluded from the “formal sector.” This article offers a preliminary analysis of some new rationalities of poverty alleviation observable in recent South African political and policy discourse. I will argue that new sorts of programmatic thinking about poverty represent a new development within (and not simply against) neoliberalism, and that they seek, by abandoning the regulatory and normalizing functions usually associated with social assistance, to bring the formal and the informal into a new sort of relation.

scholarly journals Building Workers’ Education in the Context of the Struggle Against Racial Capitalism: The Role of Labour Support Organisations

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mondli Hlatshwayo
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Training Project ◽  
Racial Capitalism ◽  
Historical Writings ◽  
The Relationship

In South Africa, with few exceptions, scholarship on the modern labour movement which emerged after the Durban strikes of 1973 tends to focus on trade unions that constituted the labour movement, strikes, collective bargaining, and workplace changes. While all these topics covered by labour scholars are of great importance, there is less emphasis on the role played by labour support organisations (LSOs) which, in some cases, predate the formation of the major trade unions. Based on an analysis of historical writings, some archival and internet sources, this article critically discusses the contribution of LSOs and their use of workers’ education to build and strengthen trade unions, which became one of the critical forces in the struggles against racial capitalism in the 1980s. In particular, it critically examines the work of the Urban Training Project (UTP) and the South African Committee for Higher Education (SACHED) workers’ education programmes as a contribution to building the labour movement. The relationship between trade unions which had elaborated structures of accountability and LSOs which were staffed by a relatively small layer of activists also led to debates about accountability and mandates.

scholarly journals Should Uber drivers be considered employees for South African income tax purposes?

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariam Hussein ◽  
Shaun Parsons ◽  
Riyaan Mabutha ◽  
Magdel Zietsman
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Business Models ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Tax Collection ◽  
Independent Contractors ◽  
Tax Legislation ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
The Usa

Orientation: Uber is a leader in the gig economy both internationally and in South Africa. One of the key elements of Uber’s business model is that drivers operate as independent contractors rather than employees. Whilst this may reduce costs, it may also negatively affect tax collection.Research purpose: This study considers whether Uber drivers should be classified as employees or independent contractors in South Africa for employees’ tax purposes.Motivation for the study: As the gig economy expands, uncertainty exists as to how traditional approaches to taxation apply and the extent to which they remain appropriate to new business models that have non-traditional relationships with their participants. This is evident by the extent of disputes arising internationally, and particularly in the United States of America (USA), where Uber was founded.Research approach/design and method: This study engages in comparative legal research to determine the extent to which attempts to resolve this question in the USA may inform the South African context.Main findings: The lack of consistent classification outcomes in the USA suggests that it may be difficult to reach a conclusive classification of Uber drivers in South Africa for employees’ tax purposes using the current tests. Whilst these tests may be adapted, this study supports calls for rethinking the link between tax collection and traditional employment relationships.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the development and interpretation of South African tax legislation in the context of new technologies and business models, and provides recommendations for rethinking the approach to tax collection in these contexts.

scholarly journals Implications of COVID-19 Lockdown on South African Business Sector

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Chucks I Ede ◽  
Mfundo Mandla Masuku ◽  
Nokukhanya N Jili
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Business Sector ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
Precautionary Measures ◽  
The Many ◽  
Firing Line

The COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa spelt untold adversity on many businesses in the country. This is attributable to the precautionary measures implemented by the South African government to contain the ferocious disease spread across various levels in the society. This article examined the many implications of the pandemic on the business sector in South Africa through the period just before June 2020. The article adopted a qualitative approach to critically examine the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the business sector in South Africa. It utilised Statistics South Africa’s reports and contemporary literature on the effects of COVID-19 on the business sector which was used as a source of reference. The statistical evidence is based on experimental data for May 2020, as derived from over a thousand registered businesses operating within the formal sector from various industrial groupings in South Africa. The period under review is remarkable because the business's effect of the pandemic became visibly alarming while the lockdown phases were reduced from Level 5 to Level 4 within the period. The private sector of the economy, known for its huge economic sustenance of most of the country’s labour force, was already at the firing line as all ‘nonessential’ businesses succumb to government’s strict regulations on socioeconomic activities during the phased lockdowns. The hitherto struggling economy, barely sustained by this sector, eventually caved in with over half of its gross domestic product, shrinking attributable to the unparalleled adverse effects that attended the dreaded pandemic. Although government is still battling with the nation’s economic recovery process, many businesses counted their losses from the first few months of the lockdown, as portrayed by plentiful evidence from the national statistical body.

Reframing Xenophobia in South Africa as Colour-Blind: The Limits of the Afro Phobia Thesis

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-444
Author(s):  
Amanuel Isak Tewolde
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Conflict Theory ◽  
Black African ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Online Newspaper ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Realistic Conflict Theory

Many scholars and South African politicians characterize the widespread anti-foreigner sentiment and violence in South Africa as dislike against migrants and refugees of African origin which they named ‘Afro-phobia’. Drawing on online newspaper reports and academic sources, this paper rejects the Afro-phobia thesis and argues that other non-African migrants such as Asians (Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis and Chinese) are also on the receiving end of xenophobia in post-apartheid South Africa. I contend that any ‘outsider’ (White, Asian or Black African) who lives and trades in South African townships and informal settlements is scapegoated and attacked. I term this phenomenon ‘colour-blind xenophobia’. By proposing this analytical framework and integrating two theoretical perspectives — proximity-based ‘Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT)’ and Neocosmos’ exclusivist citizenship model — I contend that xenophobia in South Africa targets those who are in close proximity to disadvantaged Black South Africans and who are deemed outsiders (e.g., Asian, African even White residents and traders) and reject arguments that describe xenophobia in South Africa as targeting Black African refugees and migrants.

Region of Birth and Child Mortality among Black Migrants to South Africa: Is there a foreign-born advantage?

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany L Green ◽  
Amos C Peters
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Child Mortality ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Black Immigrants ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Region Of Origin ◽  
Child Deaths

Much of the existing evidence for the healthy immigrant advantage comes from developed countries. We investigate whether an immigrant health advantage exists in South Africa, an important emerging economy.  Using the 2001 South African Census, this study examines differences in child mortality between native-born South African and immigrant blacks.  We find that accounting for region of origin is critical: immigrants from southern Africa are more likely to experience higher lifetime child mortality compared to the native-born population.  Further, immigrants from outside of southern Africa are less likely than both groups to experience child deaths.  Finally, in contrast to patterns observed in developed countries, we detect a strong relationship between schooling and child mortality among black immigrants.

Some Reflections on Reparation in Post-Apartheid South Africa, using a Couple Therapy Intervention as a Microcosm of South African Society

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Hill ◽  
Sylvia Poss
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Couple Therapy ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Depressive Position ◽  
Central Hypothesis ◽  
Transference And Countertransference ◽  
Constructive Engagement ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Therapy Intervention

The paper addresses the question of reparation in post-apartheid South Africa. The central hypothesis of the paper is that in South Africa current traumas or losses, such as the 2008 xenophobic attacks, may activate a ‘shared unconscious phantasy’ of irreparable damage inflicted by apartheid on the collective psyche of the South African nation which could block constructive engagement and healing. A brief couple therapy intervention by a white therapist with a black couple is used as a ‘microcosm’ to explore this question. The impact of an extreme current loss, when earlier losses have been sustained, is explored. Additionally, the impact of racial difference on the transference and countertransference between the therapist and the couple is explored to illustrate factors complicating the productive grieving and working through of the depressive position towards reparation.

The Final ‘Thank You’

Derrida Today ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-36
Author(s):  
Grant Farred
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Jacques Derrida ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
The Other ◽  
World Cup ◽  
The Core ◽  
Nelson Mandela ◽  
Black President ◽  
The Moment

‘The Final “Thank You”’ uses the work of Jacques Derrida and Friedrich Nietzsche to think the occasion of the 1995 rugby World Cup, hosted by the newly democratic South Africa. This paper deploys Nietzsche's Zarathustra to critique how a figure such as Nelson Mandela is understood as a ‘Superman’ or an ‘Overhuman’ in the moment of political transition. The philosophical focus of the paper, however, turns on the ‘thank yous’ exchanged by the white South African rugby captain, François Pienaar, and the black president at the event of the Springbok victory. It is the value, and the proximity and negation, of the ‘thank yous’ – the relation of one to the other – that constitutes the core of the article. 1

Apartheid Aesthetics and Insignificant Art

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-69
Author(s):  
Stephanus Muller
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
South African ◽  
Cultural Production ◽  
Art Songs ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
European Culture ◽  
Small House ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Selection Of

Stephanus Le Roux Marais (1896−1979) lived in Graaff-Reinet, South Africa, for nearly a quarter of a century. He taught music at the local secondary school, composed most of his extended output of Afrikaans art songs, and painted a number of small landscapes in the garden of his small house, nestled in the bend of the Sunday’s River. Marais’s music earned him a position of cultural significance in the decades of Afrikaner dominance of South Africa. His best-known songs (“Heimwee,” “Kom dans, Klaradyn,” and “Oktobermaand”) earned him the local appellation of “the Afrikaans Schubert” and were famously sung all over the world by the soprano Mimi Coertse. The role his ouevre played in the construction of a so-called European culture in Africa is uncontested. Yet surprisingly little attention has been paid to the rich evocations of landscape encountered in Marais’s work. Contextualized by a selection of Marais’s paintings, this article glosses the index of landscape in this body of cultural production. The prevalence of landscape in Marais’s work and the range of its expression contribute novel perspectives to understanding colonial constructions of the twentieth-century South African landscape. Like the vast, empty, and ancient landscape of the Karoo, where Marais lived during the last decades of his life, his music assumes specificity not through efforts to prioritize individual expression, but through the distinct absence of such efforts. Listening for landscape in Marais’s songs, one encounters the embrace of generic musical conventions as a condition for the construction of a particular national identity. Colonial white landscape, Marais’s work seems to suggest, is deprived of a compelling musical aesthetic by its very embrace and desired possession of that landscape.

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