Caroline Skinner

Low-waged and Informal Employment in South Africa

This paper forms one component of a larger project of the Human SciencesResearch Council (HSRC) to assess the state of knowledge of the labourmarket in South Africa, and to identify research gaps. Our paper has twoprimary objectives: to outline the extent and incidence of low-wagedemployment in South Africa and to review the literature on informalemployment, one important component of low-waged employment. Webegin by provided a statistical overview of low-waged employment usingthe Labour Force Survey of March 2000 and March 2004. Based on thesedata, we summarise trends in low-waged employment. In Section B, wefocus on informal employment in South Africa, and discuss some of theconceptual and statistical literature and apply it to the South Africancontext. Section C provides trends on informal employment. Section D,using a unique panel drawn from the Labour Force Survey, providesanalysis of some of the linkages between informal employment and otherlabour market statuses, including unemployment. Finally, in Section E,based both on our analysis of low-waged employment and on the review ofthe informal economy, we offer some suggestions for a research agenda.The issues of low-waged employment and informal employment are bothimportant considerations for labour market policy in South Africa. One ofthe key debates about employment in South Africa is the relationshipbetween wages and employment, with the argument often made that the highlevels of unemployment in South Africa are a result of rapid increases inwages, particularly of unskilled black workers (see Fallon and Lucas 1998,Lewis 2002). In the last comprehensive overview study of the labour market

Labour Market Policy, Flexibility, and the Future of Labour Relations: the case of KwaZulu-Natal clothing industry

Caroline Skinner and Imraan Valodia analyse how South African clothing firms are reconfiguring their production processes through subcontracting and discuss the implications for collective bargaining.

Local Government Support for Women in the Informal Economy in Durban, South Africa

This paper examines the response of the city government of Durban to the growth of the informal economy. It argues that, unlike the national government of South Africa, Durbans government has been creative in designing policies that favor informal economy workers, particularly women. These progressive policies are the result of an innovative local government and, to some extent, an emerging self-employed women workers union that has been able to exert influence on informal economy policies.

Challenging city imaginaries: Street traders' struggles in Warwick Junction

abstract Internationally there are a few cases where street traders have been sensitively integrated into urban plans. Warwick Junction, the primary transport node in Durban, South Africa, was for over 10 years one of the few exceptions. The Perspective details the role played by collective action among women street traders in securing a collaborative planning approach. It argues that Warwick Junction for this period presented an alternative to modernist and gender-blind approaches to urban planning. In January 2009 the City Council however announced its plans to build a large shopping mall in Warwick Junction threatening the livelihoods of all street traders in the area. The Perspective concludes by analysing these recent developments.

Globalisation and women's work in South Africa: national and local approaches to economic transformation

The South African economy has been undergoing a process of fundamental economic transformation as a result of policies promoting global integration within the global economy. CAROLINE SKINNER and IMRAAN VALODIA suggest that women are bearing the brunt of the costs associated with this transformation. They examine some of the gender dimensions of the transformation process by looking at national and local governments approach to business support and promotion, focusing particularly on the informal economy

South-feminist perspectives on gender justice and governance in Africa

Perspectives on some of the key features of dominant political processes in Africa were discussed at a workshop convened by Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era. CAROLINE SKINNER reports on the workshop