Derick Blaauw

Day labor, informality and vulnerability in South Africa and the United States

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to compare conditions in informal day-labor markets in South Africa and the USA to better understand the nature of worker vulnerabilities in this market, as well as the economic conditions that have contributed to the growth of day labor. The conclusion considers interventions that are underway in the two countries to improve conditions in day-labor markets. Design/methodology/approach - – The paper is based on national surveys of day laborers in South Africa and the USA. A random sample of day laborers seeking work at informal hiring sites was undertaken in each country. The paper presents key findings, compares conditions in South Africa and the USA, and analyzes the relationship between economic change, labor-market dynamics, and worker vulnerability. Findings - – Day-labor work is characterized by low pay, hazardous conditions on the job, and tremendous income insecurity. The day-labor markets in South Africa and the USA perform somewhat different functions within regional economies. Within South Africa, day labor can be regarded as a survival strategy. The growth of day labor in South Africa over the past decade is a manifestation of a formal labor market that is incapable of absorbing the structurally unemployed. Here, day labor is the employment of last resort, allowing workers to subsist on the fringes of the mainstream economy, but offering few pathways into the formal sector. In the USA, the day labor workforce is a largely undocumented-immigrant workforce. Workers seek work at informal hiring sites, maintaining a tenuous hold on jobs in the construction industry. There is evidence of some mobility into more stable and better paying employment. Practical implications - – This paper documents the need for policies and programs to increase employment opportunities for day laborers and to better enforce labor standards in the informal economy. Originality/value - – This paper summarizes findings from the only two national surveys of day laborers that have been conducted, and it compares for the first time the dynamic within growing day-labor markets in a developed- and emerging-market context.

Getting to know the Amakwerre-kwerre: the socio-economic circumstances of Zimbabwean day labourers in South Africa

Over the past decade, in the face of volatile economic conditions at home, there has been an influx of Zimbabweans into South Africa looking for work and a better life. Many of these jobseekers have moved into the day labourer market, offering their services on street corners and other pickup points in the main metropolitan areas. While their working and living conditions leave much to be desired and their pay is very uncertain, Zimbabwean day labourers – with better education – often are the preferred candidates for the limited jobs on offer and earn more than their counterparts in South Africa. Not surprisingly, South African day labourers often resent Zimbabwean workers in the country. This study is the first of its kind in that it delves into the hopes, fears and daily routines of Zimbabwean day labourers, and offers new perspectives on this important economic segment.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING THOSE LONG HOURS NEXT TO THE ROAD? AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THREE INFORMAL DAY LABOUR HIRING SITES IN TSHWANE

Valenzuela (2002) calls people who congregate at informal pick-up points to seek for work for the day, by the hour or for a specific job, day labourers and the pick-up points hiring sites. These hiring sites are described as open-air geographical locations, such as street corners, pavements, car parking lots and factory gates (Blaauw, 2010), where day labourers seek employment (Valenzuela, 2003). Day labourers and the hiring sites appear to be a growing feature in South Africa and in many parts of the world. For example, in Japan in 1998 the number of day labourers who gathered at hiring sites was estimated to be as high as 1.26 million and in the USA the number of day labourers doubled from 1995, being estimated at 117 000 in 2004 (Gill, 2001:2; Grow, 2003:5; Louw, 2007:99).

THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC REALITY OF BEING A DAY LABOURER IN PRETORIA1

Day labourers are workers who wait on street corners or in other public places for opportunities to work. They are individuals who work for different employers and get paid on a daily basis. Because they are excluded from the formal labour market, these workers often work for different employers each day, are paid in cash, and do not enjoy benefits such as health insurance and unemployment benefits. It is mainly the employers who benefit from this relationship. They do not have many commitments towards these workers and use them only when work is available

LIFE IS NOT PAP AND VLEIS: POVERTY IN CHILD-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS IN GAUTENG 1

Richter (2004:9) suggests that child-headed households (CHHs) are much more vulnerable economically than adult-headed households. “Income in orphan households has been found to be 20-30% lower than in non-orphan households” (Richter, 2004:9). This is confirmed by Donald and Clacherty (2005). Children in child-headed households survive on about one-third of the resources (money as well as contributions in kind, such as gifts or food, etc.) available to adult-headed households. This is because these children lack the presence of parents, they have limited means of generating an income and they are unable to effectively sustain their households (Donald & Clacherty, 2005:24).