tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca-fr/topics/labour-laws-20165/articlesLabour laws – La Conversation2023-11-02T22:15:48Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2163222023-11-02T22:15:48Z2023-11-02T22:15:48ZHow Canadian companies can use tech to identify forced labour in their supply chains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557005/original/file-20231101-19-pz1lh7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C37%2C4962%2C3293&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Canadian companies will soon be legally obligated to annually report on efforts to prevent and remediate forced and child labour in their supply chains. Technology could help them do this.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/how-canadian-companies-can-use-tech-to-identify-forced-labour-in-their-supply-chains" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Levi Strauss Canada is yet another company facing <a href="https://core-ombuds.canada.ca/core_ombuds-ocre_ombuds/press-release-levi-strauss-communique.aspx?lang=eng">allegations of forced labour in its supply chain</a>. The allegations, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/corporate-ethics-czar-investigating-levi-strauss-over-alleged-links-to-forced-labour-1.6570081">which Levi Strauss denies</a>, centre on whether the company is working with suppliers using Uyghur forced labour. With over <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/publications/WCMS_854733/lang--en/index.htm">27 million people worldwide</a> in forced labour, we can expect to witness similar allegations elsewhere in the coming years. </p>
<p>While Canada enjoys strong protections against labour exploitation, the issue of involuntary work may hit closer to home than expected. The reality is that forced labour <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-brands-china-supply-chains-illegal-forced-labor-2022-12">could have been used to produce many of our everyday items</a>, including clothing, electronics and vehicles. </p>
<p>Canada has taken a significant step in addressing this problem through the <a href="https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/F-10.6">Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act</a>. As of Jan. 1, 2024, companies with significant operations in Canada will be legally obligated to pay closer attention to the working conditions in their supply chains. </p>
<p>This act brings Canada’s efforts to address forced labour in alignment with other regions such as the <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/UFLPA">United States</a>, the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/30/contents/enacted">United Kingdom</a> and <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2018A00153">Australia</a>.</p>
<p>Under this act, any entity with significant operations in Canada will be obligated to annually report on its efforts to prevent and remediate forced and child labour in its supply chains. </p>
<p>This includes disclosing information about relevant policies, due diligence processes, supply chain hotspots, employee training and remediation measures. The act also includes provisions for corrective measures and punishment. </p>
<h2>Identifying forced labour with technology</h2>
<p>The complex nature of supply chains makes identifying when and where forced or child labour occurs a significant challenge. Supply chains can contain thousands of suppliers that span continents. Even major international companies like Levi Strauss, which has a strong <a href="https://www.levistrauss.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/LSCo_Code-of-Conduct.pdf">supplier code of conduct</a>, can end up facing allegations of violations in their supply chains.</p>
<p>To explore how forced and child labour can be identified in supply chains, we <a href="https://cmr.berkeley.edu/2022/03/modern-slavery-in-global-supply-chains-the-impact-of-covid-19/">conducted over 30 interviews with experts from around the world</a>. These experts included representatives from non-governmental organizations, companies and auditing bodies, providing insight into how emerging technologies can be used to support identifying such practices.</p>
<p>The difficulty of identifying far-flung suppliers, for instance, could be simplified by using DNA to identify a product’s origin, as is done with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/07/business/economy/ai-tech-dna-supply-chain.html">cotton</a>, <a href="https://www.msc.org/media-centre/news-opinion/news/2020/02/21/how-dna-testing-works">seafood</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/chocolate-a-new-way-to-make-sure-your-favourite-bar-is-an-ethical-treat-163687">chocolate</a>.</p>
<p>Drones and satellite imaging can be used to identify potential forced labour hotspots, such as remote <a href="https://www.insider.com/pakistan-brick-kilns-debt-bondage-modern-day-slavery-2023-4">brick kilns</a>, <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250284297/cobaltred">mines</a> or <a href="https://hai.stanford.edu/news/detecting-modern-day-slavery-sky">areas of illegal deforestation</a>. AI can also <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/how-ai-and-satellite-imaging-tech-can-put-an-end-to-modern-slavery/">predict areas at high risk of forced and child labor</a> and direct attention to these regions.</p>
<p>Additionally, emerging technologies can help identify some forms of deception. Blockchain technology, for example, can provide an <a href="https://widgets.weforum.org/blockchain-toolkit/data-integrity/index.html">unalterable ledger of transactions in real time</a>, preventing later manipulation. Artificial intelligence can quickly process immense quantities of data, which aids in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/07/business/economy/ai-tech-dna-supply-chain.html">detecting unusual patterns indicating potential fraud</a>.</p>
<h2>Addressing the risk of deceptive practices</h2>
<p>In some cases, there are incentives for businesses to conceal illegal and immoral practices. Transparentem, a non-profit group focused on eradicating labour abuse, found <a href="https://transparentem.org/project/hidden-harm/">evidence of deception during supply chain audits in garment factories in India, Malaysia and Myanmar</a>. These deceptive practices include falsifying documents, coaching workers to lie and hiding workers who appeared to be unlawfully employed.</p>
<p>Based on in-depth interviews with auditors, suppliers, brand representatives and workers in the apparel industry, Human Rights Watch has found these risks are <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2022/11/15/obsessed-audit-tools-missing-goal/why-social-audits-cant-fix-labor-rights-abuses">elevated when companies have advance notice of an upcoming audit</a>. </p>
<p>Integrating sensors, cameras and other cloud technology can enable real-time monitoring of working conditions, mitigating the risks of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120773">advance notice of audits</a>. Sensors and cameras, for example, have been used on <a href="https://teem.fish/vessels/">fishing vessels</a> to remotely transmit data in near real-time. </p>
<p>Worker voice platforms, such as those used in the <a href="https://www.responsiblebusiness.org/tools/voices/">electronics industry</a>, allow workers to provide feedback directly through smartphone apps. This can serve as a real-time whistleblower mechanism for workers trapped in forced labour.</p>
<h2>Technology is only part of the solution</h2>
<p>Despite its potential benefits, technology still has weaknesses, like high costs, susceptibility to manipulation and weak data security, that need to be addressed. Blockchain technology, for instance, <a href="https://widgets.weforum.org/blockchain-toolkit/data-integrity/index.html">can codify manipulated or incorrect data</a> unless the necessary precautions are taken.</p>
<p>Meeting the requirements of the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act will require grounding technology in a broader risk-based approach consisting of supplier screening, monitoring and auditing. </p>
<p>In addition, even when technology does indicate the presence of forced or child labour, on-the-ground verification and follow-up is often required. Identification is just the first step. The act requires reporting on remediation, which is typically based on long-term collaborative relationships with local parties.</p>
<p>Addressing the issue of forced and child labour in supply chains is difficult and complex. While technology can help companies fulfil their reporting obligations under the act, identifying and remediating these crucial issues will require <a href="https://cmr.berkeley.edu/2022/11/65-1-transformational-transparency-in-supply-chains-leveraging-technology-to-drive-radical-change/">ongoing and concerted efforts</a>. </p>
<p>The first report is due on May 31, 2024, so companies have no time to spare in working to comply with the act.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216322/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cory Searcy receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grant Michelson and Pavel Castka do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Supply chains can contain thousands of suppliers spanning continents. DNA testing, drones, satellite imaging and other technologies can help identify forced and child labour.Cory Searcy, Professor, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, & Vice-Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityGrant Michelson, Professor of Management, Macquarie Business School, Macquarie UniversityPavel Castka, Professor in Operations Management and Sustainability; Associate Dean Research at UC Business School, University of CanterburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1942362022-11-10T22:26:20Z2022-11-10T22:26:20ZOntario education strike fallout: Workers’ anger about economic inequalities and labour precarity could spark wider job action<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494506/original/file-20221109-11077-oeqabb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=111%2C190%2C2830%2C3116&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">CUPE members and supporters join a demonstration outside the office of Parm Gill, Member of Provincial Parliament for the riding of Milton, Ont., on Nov. 4, 2022. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Labour strife in Canada <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63503334">grabbed international attention</a> after the Ontario government passed a law that made an education workers’ strike <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/11/03/ontario-legislation-imposing-contract-on-education-workers-set-to-pass-today.html">illegal</a> and set fines for striking workers, invoking a clause in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms that allowed it to bypass constitutional challenges.</p>
<p>After the 55,000 workers went on strike anyway, with multiple labour unions and some of the public <a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/with-several-schools-closed-during-cupe-strike-some-parents-are-scrambling-to-find-child-care-while-supporting-striking-education-workers">rallying against the move</a>, the government has since <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ford-lecce-education-contract-negotiations-1.6644075">promised to repeal</a> the legislation, ending the walkout.</p>
<p>But these events may mark what is likely just the beginning of pronounced resistance <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/education-unions-concern-notwithstanding-clause-1.6641575">from education workers over upcoming months</a>.</p>
<h2>Previous unsettled bargaining</h2>
<p>The effects of previous bargaining in 2019 in Ontario left many in the education sector unsettled. </p>
<p>Throughout the pandemic, media coverage has largely focused on student outcomes — with concerns over social isolation, <a href="https://www.camh.ca/en/camh-news-and-stories/majority-of-ontario-students-surveyed-report-feeling-depressed--about-the-future-because-of-covid-19">mental health</a> and students <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/students-falling-behind-pandemic-1.6014355">falling behind academically</a> — and rightly so. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mike-harriss-common-sense-attack-on-ontario-schools-is-back-and-so-are-teachers-strikes-130190">Mike Harris’s 'common sense' attack on Ontario schools is back — and so are teachers' strikes</a>
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<p>However, over the past few years, education workers have themselves faced similar challenges with pandemic fatigue, limited government support <a href="https://theconversation.com/4-steps-to-teacher-recovery-from-compassion-fatigue-and-burnout-during-covid-19-and-beyond-151407">and occupational burnout</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://abacusdata.ca/ford-education-workers-november-2022/">Public opinion</a> appears <a href="https://www.cp24.com/news/poll-finds-6-in-10-ontarians-blame-ford-government-for-education-workers-job-action-1.6141215">to be on the side of educators</a>: Six in 10 Ontarians “blamed the Ford government for the ongoing labour disruption involving tens of thousands of education workers that … forced schools to close for in-person learning,” according to an Abacus Data poll conducted Nov. 4 and 5.</p>
<p>This most recent strife may well represent the feelings of those in the middle <a href="https://www.macleans.ca/longforms/the-working-class-has-had-enough/">or working classes today</a> who are also angry about effects of social austerity. These <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-ontario-can-recover-from-doug-fords-covid-19-governance-disaster-159783">have come into sharp focus through the pandemic</a>, especially in health care and long-term care for seniors.</p>
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<h2>Anger about insecurity and its effects</h2>
<p>Anger relates to <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2004/09/113782">workers’ economic insecurity</a>. According to economist Guy Standing, those who lack employment protections are increasingly frustrated by the lack of opportunity, <a href="https://www.hse.ru/data/2013/01/28/1304836059/Standing.%20The_Precariat__The_New_Dangerous_Class__-Bloomsbury_USA(2011).pdf">employment security, as well as the promise of social mobility</a>. </p>
<p>In my own research with unemployed and underemployed teachers in Ontario, many described their overall feelings towards work and employment experiences negatively. This includes the inability to <a href="https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cjeap/article/view/43150">secure employment and expectations about unpaid work</a>, as well as feeling a lack of community, supports and career progression. </p>
<p>Teachers of course are only one group of education workers. There are thousands of early childhood educators, education assistants, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/school-caretakers-custodian-cupe-strike-1.6640986">custodial staff and others</a> who are <a href="https://theconversation.com/precarious-employment-in-education-impacts-workers-families-and-students-115766">employed precariously in the field of education.</a></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/children-across-canada-deserve-a-professional-early-childhood-education-workforce-181124">Children across Canada deserve a professional early childhood education workforce</a>
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<p>This isn’t limited to workers in schools. Precarious forms of employment have increasingly been the norm for labourers <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-rich-helped-create-2016s-angry-populism-57710">across sectors, while the division between the “haves” and the “have nots” widens</a>. </p>
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<img alt="People seen in fog with picket signs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494507/original/file-20221109-16873-o5zngv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494507/original/file-20221109-16873-o5zngv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494507/original/file-20221109-16873-o5zngv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494507/original/file-20221109-16873-o5zngv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494507/original/file-20221109-16873-o5zngv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494507/original/file-20221109-16873-o5zngv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494507/original/file-20221109-16873-o5zngv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Education workers seen at a demonstration in Milton, Ont., on Nov. 4, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn</span></span>
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<h2>Falling behind?</h2>
<p>Concerns <a href="https://pepso.ca/documents/pepso-glb-final-lores_2018-06-18_r4-for-website.pdf">about “falling behind” are also front and centre</a> for many workers at this time. </p>
<p>Inflation is a pressing issue for citizens and families. Workers often not only contend with rising prices for goods and services, but in a context of historic under-investment in public services, they also often feel as <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-economist-explains-what-you-need-to-know-about-inflation-188959">though inflation is even more pronounced than the numbers suggest</a>. </p>
<p>For education workers in the province, this has been compounded by public sector wage ceilings largely imposed in 2019. </p>
<p>Ontario’s wage cap bill (Bill 124) remains a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/bill-124-court-challenge-ontario-1.6579655">controversial and perhaps unconstitutional law, and is currently under a court challenge</a>. </p>
<p>Similarly, the use of the Charter’s <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-ford-cupe-notwithstanding-canadian-unions/">notwithstanding clause</a> by the Ontario government demonstrated another potential misuse of <a href="https://theconversation.com/ontario-school-strike-governments-use-of-the-notwithstanding-clause-again-is-an-assault-on-labour-relations-193824?">power — again seeking to push workers further backwards</a>. </p>
<h2>Privatization agenda</h2>
<p>Many are also concerned that the Ford government’s pandemic policies have accelerated a pre-pandemic privatization agenda. For example, in the spring of 2021, the province revealed it was considering <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/permanent-online-school-1.5964008">making virtual school an option beyond the pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>Education researcher Paul Bocking notes that <a href="https://tvo.me/tvo-partners-with-ministry-of-education-to-launch-the-ontario-online-course-preview/">Ontario’s introduction of e-learning courses through TVO/TFO</a> serves to make these courses more marketable for international revenue. </p>
<p>Heavy-handed labour negotiations in this context serves to further alienate workers and voters from the political centre. </p>
<p>Indeed, it could also potentially fuel more extreme <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08969205211063131">forms of populism</a>.</p>
<h2>Pandemic fatigue</h2>
<p>Years of COVID-19 and public health measures, including masking, lockdowns and vaccination campaigns, appear to have <a href="https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/2xvbr">left citizens exhausted</a>.</p>
<p>The so-called freedom convoy that descended upon Canada’s Parliament Hill in Ottawa earlier this year demonstrated the outright <a href="https://theconversation.com/freedom-convoy-protesters-anger-is-misdirected-176969">anger of citizens</a>, both those who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/29/world/americas/canada-trucker-protest.html">oppose vaccine mandates</a> as well as <a href="https://www.blogto.com/city/2022/02/angry-ontario-man-asks-freedom-convoy-truckers-go-speak-doug-ford/">those impacted by the protests</a>.</p>
<h2>Burnout leading to resistance</h2>
<p>Additionally, educator burnout has been a serious issue across Canada. American media have also reported education workers quitting in droves, <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/06/15/teachers-burnout-workers-quitting-great-resignation/">typically citing burnout</a>, low pay and lack of support as the primary drivers of <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2022-america-teachers-great-resignation/?leadSource=uverify%20wall">quitting extremely demanding jobs</a>. </p>
<p>The pandemic experience was, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-educational-assistants-make-it-possible-for-children-to-learn-for-that/">overall, a negative one</a> for education workers. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-largely-female-teaching-force-is-standing-up-for-public-education-130633">A largely female teaching force is standing up for public education</a>
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<p>It should come as no surprise then, when workers feel emotions <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/support-staff-feeling-anxious-1.6304194">such as burnout, fatigue and disrespect</a>, they may begin to resist the imposition <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2022/11/03/doug-ford-is-turning-public-education-into-a-combat-zone.html">of further unreasonable demands placed upon them and their work</a>.</p>
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<img alt="A person with a sign that says 'we won't work for peanuts.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494510/original/file-20221109-11121-bui6fr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494510/original/file-20221109-11121-bui6fr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494510/original/file-20221109-11121-bui6fr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494510/original/file-20221109-11121-bui6fr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494510/original/file-20221109-11121-bui6fr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494510/original/file-20221109-11121-bui6fr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494510/original/file-20221109-11121-bui6fr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Education workers strike on the picket line in Kingston, Ont., Nov. 4, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg</span></span>
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<h2>A better future?</h2>
<p>Examining current labour strife in Ontario provides us with a glimpse of what the future might entail. </p>
<p>Issues impacting education workers are <a href="https://policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/no-safe-harbour">the same</a> as those impacting most workers today — including precarious forms of employment that leave workers economically insecure, emotionally frustrated and angry.</p>
<p>Collective action and solidarity — whether through a formalized labour group or not — remains the best way to improve the economic lives of all workers. </p>
<p>Could this look like <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9079265/union-power-organizing-efforts-starbucks-labour-movement/">more unionization drives</a> across various sectors? A recent American study found that being unionized “throughout one’s career is associated with a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00197939221129261">$1.3 million mean increase in lifetime earnings</a>” — more than a post-secondary degree. </p>
<p>As Standing notes:</p>
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<p>“There has been a systematic dismantlement of institutions and mechanisms of social solidarity time-honoured zones of empathy, in which ethics and standards of conduct are passed from one generation to another. Such institutions <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/a-new-class-canada-neglects-the-precariat-at-its-peril/article24944758">stand against the market, protecting their members</a>.”</p>
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<p>Education workers appear to be on the front lines of the continued <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199283262.001.0001">struggle against neoliberalism</a> and forms of privatization and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-inequality-is-growing-in-the-us-and-around-the-world-191642">extreme economic inequalities</a> witnessed across the globe. </p>
<p>Perhaps workers have finally had enough, and will continue to stand their ground until their voices are heard.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194236/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Mindzak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Frustration about unsettled bargaining that predates the pandemic could get channelled into pronounced resistance from educational workers during the coming months.Michael Mindzak, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1772512022-02-18T08:34:36Z2022-02-18T08:34:36ZWhy formal employment is not a guaranteed path to social equality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446770/original/file-20220216-15-15se0i3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">House painter Emanuel Chisiya and other jobseekers wait for casual jobs work offers on the side of a road in Cape Town. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA-EFE/Nic Bothma</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The theme of this year’s World Day of Social Justice is “<a href="https://www.un.org/en/observances/social-justice-day">Achieving Social Justice through Formal Employment</a>”. Gaining access to formal employment can greatly reduce poverty. As it is, <a href="https://www.un.org/en/observances/social-justice-day">more than 60% of the working population in the world</a> – 2 billion people globally – eke out a living in the informal economy. In theory, formal employment provides a more stable income, social protection and employment-related benefits.</p>
<p>However, the reality is that many formal sector jobs are increasingly precarious and do not provide any of these benefits, meaning that formal work is not a guaranteed path to greater social equality. </p>
<p>Internationally, there has been a rise in so-called <a href="https://www.workrightscentre.org/what-is-precarious-work">precarious work</a>. While there is no single definition of precarious work, it is generally used to refer to insecure, poorly-paid work and work without access to benefits, such as medical aid. Examples of these forms of work include seasonal work, casual work, <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/05/what-gig-economy-workers/">gig work</a> and agency work, what is most often called <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/za/Documents/process-and-operations/ZA_Labour%20broking%20and%20outsourcing%20-%20FP.pdf">labour broking</a> in South Africa.</p>
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<p>In South Africa, these various forms of precarious work have increased substantially. Between 2004 and 2017 the number of people employed in the ‘non-core’ segment, another term for precarious work, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338546087_Challenging_workplace_inequality_precarious_workers'_institutional_and_associational_power_in_Gauteng_South_Africa?_sg%5B0%5D=PFQYPwslD7Eyxxxhw7dqOjoV_mNWkOTcdhDd01CeNwYKEDtPH2gILIfOU6ujYSZW9zrTXsDBWHujwQi9DNZzbCJJo9GCGnE6MoFRVair.soYdW0Ll4ra_pChwfPlOujVbvRqs96zoKBu3c57Ppe5XXGIOarRuwkgVmB2ubXZnilOegXRIu6mHpbVz8FYTfg">increased by 71%,</a> two times faster than in the formal or informal sectors of the labour market. As a result, it is estimated that four out of ten workers in the formal sector may be in some form of precarious work.</p>
<p>These workers are likely <a href="https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/how-large-wage-penalty-labour-broker-sector">to earn, on average, half of what a permanent worker</a> makes and they are more likely to suffer violations of their basic labour rights, such as not receiving paid sick leave. Such forms of precarious work entrench inequality and poverty rather than achieving the goal of social justice.</p>
<h2>Decent work for all?</h2>
<p>The UN Sustainable Development Goals include the creation of so-called <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal8">decent work</a>. Decent work is defined as work that provides a fair income, security, social protection, the prospects for personal development and the right to organise at work.</p>
<p>Decent work is, therefore, about more than simply getting more people into work. The challenge is to create socially transformative labour markets that can create employment for inclusive, prosperous and equitable societies.</p>
<p>However, South Africa’s record in this regard is patchy.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201811/42060gon1303act9of2018.pdf">national minimum wage</a>, which was introduced in 2019, was and continues to be set at a level that does not cover basic needs.</p>
<p>In October 2021, the NGO the <a href="https://pmbejd.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/PMBEJD_Media-Statement_October-2021_27102021.pdf">Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group</a>, found that the cost of the average household food basket was R4,317.56 a month. </p>
<p>Yet a worker earning the national minimum wage and fortunate enough to be in full-time employment (45 hours a week) would only have earned R3,904 in a month. Not enough to cover just basic food items, never mind costs for transport, electricity and a range of other essential items.</p>
<p>The data provided by the NGO is based on tracking food prices on the most commonly bought food items, such as maize meal, rice and bread, in 44 supermarkets in working class areas of the country. This provides the real cost of basic items rather than estimates based on rates of inflation. And, therefore, provides real insight to the extent to which many of those working in the formal sector are ‘<a href="http://nationalminimumwage.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NMW-RI-Fact-Sheet-2.pdf">working poor</a>’. </p>
<p>For the range of precarious workers who may not even work 45 hours a week due to the increasing use of variable hour or <a href="https://www.newframe.com/zero-hours-contracts-are-a-poverty-sentence/#:%7E:text=Under%20zero%20hours%20contracts%20%E2%80%93%20which,South%20African%20economy%20are%20rubbish">zero hours</a> contracts, their situation is even worse.</p>
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<p>Achieving greater social justice through formal employment is only a realistic possibility if such work provides, at least, a living wage and protection of labour rights.</p>
<p>But it is estimated that <a href="https://www.africaportal.org/publications/measuring-multidimensional-labour-law-violation-application-south-africa/">60 per cent of the workforce</a> in South Africa experience some violation of their labour rights. Yet most of these violations go unreported. In the context of <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=14957">high unemployment</a>, workers fear reporting these labour violations for fear of dismissal.</p>
<p>Even when workers do report their employers <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09500170211015081">the road to justice can be long</a>, as I have been documenting for a number of years following labour broker workers seeking to access their rights to permanent employment.</p>
<h2>Tackling precarious employment</h2>
<p>One positive intervention that the state has made in attempting to address precarious employment has been its attempt to regulate the use of labour broking. </p>
<p>Labour broking is when a company provides workers to client companies, supposedly on a temporary basis. However, very often labour broker workers work for years at the same company, performing the same work as permanent workers for inferior wages and no benefits. </p>
<p>In 2014 the Labour Relations Act was <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201501/37921gon629.pdf">amended</a> to restrict labour broking to work of a genuinely temporary nature. It requires that labour broker workers become permanent employees of the client company after three months. While this was not the ban on labour broking that the labour federation Congress of South African Trade Unions <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/opinion/cosatu-demands-ban-on-labour-brokers-1961638">called for</a> it was, in theory, a significant step forward in the rights for labour broker workers.</p>
<p>However, the path to gaining these rights has been arduous for many workers.</p>
<p>When workers open cases against their employers, either at the <a href="https://www.ccma.org.za/">Commission for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration</a> or at <a href="https://www.gov.za/services/trade-unions/register-bargaining-council">bargaining councils</a> – which solve labour disputes – employers often victimise workers and continually delay proceedings in the hope that the workers will give up their case.</p>
<p>Furthermore, many of these workers take up these cases themselves as most precarious workers do not belong to unions. Indeed, only just over a quarter (27%) of the total formally employed workforce is <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0211/P02113rdQuarter2021.pdf">unionised</a>, the majority of whom are workers in skilled and supervisory positions. Yet the rules of representation at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration and bargaining councils only permit representatives of registered trade unions or lawyers to represent workers in these forums.</p>
<p>This puts non-unionised workers in a David versus Goliath situation where they must follow the rules of the Commission and argue their case while facing, at least, trained human resources professionals or, at worst, several lawyers from some of the most prestigious law firms in the country.</p>
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<p>Workers complain that they often feel pressured by Commission for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration commissioners, who are themselves <a href="http://www.dpru.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/36/DPRU%20WP09-137.pdf">performance managed</a> on how many cases a day they settle, into accepting settlements that do not resolve the injustice that they seek to address.</p>
<p>Thus, it has been estimated that as much as <a href="https://www.news24.com/fin24/economy/80-of-labour-broker-workers-should-be-deemed-permanent-20180826-2">80% of labour broker</a> workers have not been deemed permanent and continue to work in precarious conditions.</p>
<h2>Achieving social justice</h2>
<p>Getting a formal sector job is not on its own going to create greater social equality. Workers need a living wage and an environment in which rights are protected and enforced.</p>
<p>This requires both strong state enforcement and the organisation of workers.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2021-03-02-labour-pains-trade-union-membership-has-declined-badly-and-bosses-are-calling-the-shots/">Declining rates of unionistation</a> among workers is a result of the increasing precarious nature of work, and the limited responses that unions have had to this.</p>
<p>However, workers are not waiting for unions to come and organise them and have taken the initiative to organise themselves in a variety of sectors and, in many cases, are successfully winning their demands.</p>
<p>Yet, such workers formations are excluded from the labour institutions. One advance that could be made in promoting social justice through formal employment would be to recognise all forms of worker organisation, and afford them greater rights in protecting and advancing worker rights.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177251/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carin Runciman receives funding from the National Research Foundation. Between 2016 and 2021 she was a management committee member of the Casual Workers Advice Office, a NGO dedicated towards the rights of precarious workers. </span></em></p>Many formal sector jobs are increasingly precarious and poorly paid, meaning that formal work is not an avenue to greater social equality for many people.Carin Runciman, Director, Centre for Social Change, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1749852022-01-17T15:34:18Z2022-01-17T15:34:18ZFirms are cutting sick pay for the unvaccinated – what does employment law say?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441068/original/file-20220117-23-ozv1wp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C18%2C6236%2C4132&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sick-man-lying-on-sofa-home-754646167">baranq / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A person’s COVID-19 vaccination status is increasingly determining which events they can attend, where they can travel and where they can work. Vaccines influence the jobs that people can do (some companies require a vaccine to work), as well as when workers are required to take sick leave and the support that they receive during that time. </p>
<p>The discrepancies in <a href="https://faq.covid19.nhs.uk/article/KA-01397/en-us">self-isolation rules</a> for vaccinated and unvaccinated contacts of positive COVID tests have also also affected employers. Companies potentially have to pay more for unvaccinated workers than vaccinated ones if they have to cover longer periods of sick leave. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jan/13/next-cuts-sick-pay-unvaccinated-staff-self-isolating-covid">number of companies</a> have opted to remove or reduce the sick pay available to unvaccinated members of staff. This move is controversial and raises a number of legal issues and debates.</p>
<p>The idea behind sick pay is to provide financial support to individuals who cannot work due to illness so that they have the opportunity to recover. There are two sources of sick pay. The first is “statutory” sick pay, which is paid by the government to employees who are absent from work. The second is “contractual” sick pay, which is established in contracts of employment and differs between companies and sectors. </p>
<p>Companies often use these contractual payments to supplement statutory sick pay, as statutory sick pay can be difficult to access and provides only a bare minimum level of support to employees absent due to illness. The level of statutory sick pay in the UK is only £96.35 per week – about an <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2021-03-02/debates/A8B79C11-F5C7-4D40-BE37-11C5AA60E8AF/Covid-19StatutorySickPay">80% cut in income</a> for an average worker. Statutory sick pay is only available for workers from day four of their sickness – and then only to those who earn more than £120 a week. </p>
<p>The added requirement that individuals are “employees” in order to claim statutory sick pay also means that statutory sick pay is unlikely to reach those who need it most. For example, many of the individuals identified as “key workers” in the pandemic, such as in the care and food delivery sectors, would not qualify for “employee” status. They may work under casual or part-time contracts which do not display the ongoing commitments to offer and accept work between the parties required by law. They would either be classed as “workers” (requiring a lesser level of commitment) or even “independent contractors” (under which individuals are understood to work on their own account rather than under the control of an employer).</p>
<h2>COVID sick pay</h2>
<p>During the pandemic the government has modified some of the statutory sick pay rules to ensure greater access for workers affected by the pandemic. <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/829/made">New legislation</a> was introduced to make sick pay available from day one of sickness and to extend sick pay to include those having to self-isolate as well as those suffering illness. </p>
<p>There was also provision for a <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/en/uksi/2022/5/introduction/made">sick pay rebate</a> for small and mid-size enterprises and, most recently, an <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/1453/made">extension</a> in the time that employees can take sick leave without the need for a doctor’s note. But the government resisted further changes to sick pay, despite a recent <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/health-is-everyones-business-proposals-to-reduce-ill-health-related-job-loss/outcome/government-response-health-is-everyones-business#chapter-3-statutory-sick-pay">public consultation</a> and <a href="https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/tuc-cutting-self-isolation-period-wont-fix-uks-fundamental-sick-pay-problem">sustained pressure</a> from trade unions showing support for wider reform,.</p>
<p>As a result of the access problems and low levels of statutory sick pay, contractual sick pay can be a real benefit to individuals who have to take time off from work due to COVID infection or self-isolation. But this has created a logistical and cost burden for employers who might also be experiencing other cost pressures during the pandemic (continued workplace closures, complying with health and safety requirements, changing customer demand and so on). </p>
<h2>What does the law say?</h2>
<p>Companies have recently sought to reduce costs by <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59930206">removing contractual sick pay</a> for unvaccinated members of staff who are required to self-isolate after close contacts test positive. For new starters this move is not in itself problematic. The law views a contract as a voluntary agreement between employers and employees, both of whom can – in theory at least – determine its content. The public consensus around the value of vaccinations and the level of uptake in the UK also mean that such provisions are unlikely to threaten recruitment. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="An image of the NHS test and trace app open on a mobile phone telling the user that they need to self isolate" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441076/original/file-20220117-23-1u4hx71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441076/original/file-20220117-23-1u4hx71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441076/original/file-20220117-23-1u4hx71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441076/original/file-20220117-23-1u4hx71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441076/original/file-20220117-23-1u4hx71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441076/original/file-20220117-23-1u4hx71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441076/original/file-20220117-23-1u4hx71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The changing self-isolation requirements have caused staff shortage problems for many companies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/england-january-2022-selfisolation-requirement-people-2103995795">David Whidborne / Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>But removing contractual sick pay during the life of the contract is another story. If the contract provides for contractual sick pay and the company does not pay it then an employee would be able to bring a claim for breach of contract or unlawful deduction of wages. Much will depend on the wording of the contractual sick pay provision: if the payment is discretionary, then the risk to the employer in making the change is much lower.</p>
<p>Modifying a contract during its lifetime normally requires employee consent. Without that consent, or extra benefits for the affected employee, employers who remove entitlements to contractual sick pay could be opening themselves up to claims of contractual damages or “constructive dismissal” (a breach of contract so severe that it entitles an employee to resign and claim compensation).</p>
<p>There is the option for employers to “fire” employees and “rehire” them on new contractual terms, which is legal in the UK, but very risky. Employers must have a sound and pressing business reason and undertake extensive consultation, otherwise they face legal claims such as breach of contract and unfair dismissal and possible reputational damage.</p>
<p>Companies will also have to take care with the wording of the contract to ensure that they are not discriminating against those who refuse the vaccine on health grounds. Many of these policies allow for mitigating circumstances to avoid the risk of litigation. </p>
<p>At the very least, these uncertainties highlight the need for reform of statutory sick pay. All workers must have the financial support to take time off work and reduce the possibility of the workday turning into a super-spreader event.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174985/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>I am a member of the Industrial Law Society</span></em></p>Removing contractual sick pay could open employers up to legal challenges.Lisa Rodgers, Associate professor, labour law, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1698632022-01-12T20:44:33Z2022-01-12T20:44:33ZYoung, poor and vulnerable: delivery riders in France are demanding better wages and social protection<blockquote>
<p>“In their ideal world, the platforms, you should say nothing, smile politely, ‘Hello, Sir’, ‘Goodbye’, climb the stairs, deliver, never fall, never have an accident, never complain… Before, we used to be paid €5, now it’s €2.60, you can’t say anything. Go ahead and drive! And if you’re delivering warm stuff, forget about red lights but don’t die please!”</p>
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<p>This quote from a young delivery rider illustrates the subordination of the labour force that lies at the heart of the platform economy: an ecosystem <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/terminal/7728">governed by the tyranny of algorithms</a>.</p>
<p>How are these workers cared for, when they face multiple hazards with minimal protection? What are their social protection needs? </p>
<p>These questions are at the heart of debates around the <a href="https://solidarites-sante.gouv.fr/actualites/presse/dossiers-de-presse/article/le-projet-de-loi-de-financement-de-la-securite-sociale-plfss-pour-l-annee-2022">Social Security Financing Bill for 2022</a> presented last September in France.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in December, the European Commission <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_6620">released a proposal</a> to improve working conditions for platform workers that establishes a presumption of employee status. The proposal seeks to promote quality jobs in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights.</p>
<h2>Young, poor and vulnerable</h2>
<p>As part of our <a href="https://iness.wp.imt.fr/alter">ongoing research</a> into the conditions of platform workers, we surveyed more than 200 delivery riders in France via an online questionnaire and follow-up interviews with 15 of them.</p>
<p>The workers who responded to our questionnaire were young (three-quarters were under 30), and their earnings were low: less than €900/month before deduction of taxes and charges for half of them. Half of them worked between 20 and 40 hours a week, though the time spent waiting for an order is not paid, which prevents many from holding down another job (60% did not have another professional activity); 97% were technically self-employed.</p>
<p>Before becoming delivery drivers or riders, 37% were out of work, and this category was most likely to have been doing this work for more than three years.</p>
<p>The preferred means of transport was the bicycle (37%) or electric bicycle (26%), with these delivery workers earning less than others (22% earned less than €900 per month), while the majority who use other modes of transport, for example scooters, earned slightly more.</p>
<p>The delivery workers we interviewed revealed extreme economic and physical vulnerability.</p>
<p>One told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I was hit by a pedestrian. I broke my hand. I didn’t realise I had a fracture, so I continued to work. There are many delivery drivers… who keep working with fractures because they cannot afford to stop, or because they do not have the social security cover to be able to stop and get treatment.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Only 31% of the riders we surveyed had have never had health problems because of their work. We do not know the exact number of accidents and deaths of platforms workers, but riders remain vigilant and are increasingly mobilised on that issue.</p>
<h2>A lack of social protection</h2>
<p>The vulnerability of a delivery worker depends on the risks to which they are exposed and the social protection they may have.</p>
<p>According to our survey, the most vulnerable delivery workers are the least protected. This includes previously unemployed, undocumented workers and long-term delivery riders.</p>
<p>These highly vulnerable delivery workers are among the 32% who said they were not covered by social security, and they know little about their rights (25% of delivery workers who answered the questionnaire did not know whether they were covered by social security or not).</p>
<p>They tend not to inform their employer in case of problems (57% did not report an accident or illness to the platform). Of those who did, 61% did not receive any help. Workers told us the benefits offered did not compensate for the loss of income during work stoppage:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“It’s no use. I knew very well that the RSI (<em>Régime social des Indépendants</em>) didn’t cover anything or almost nothing. I knew that the supplementary contracts with the platforms were very low-cost, extremely low-cost contracts, and I knew that there was no point in making the request.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The variation in the vulnerability of workers is largely due to the <a href="https://www.puf.com/content/Les_nouveaux_travailleurs_des_applis">holes</a> in the social protection system in France. Platforms currently benefit from a <a href="http://theconversation.com/travailleurs-des-plates-formes-numeriques-avec-quels-droits-158075">legal and institutional vacuum</a> over their official status, but that may be changing.</p>
<p>In Spain, since August 2021, every delivery worker is <a href="https://elpais.com/economia/2021-08-12/la-ley-de-riders-echa-a-andar-en-medio-de-la-negativa-de-las-empresas-a-contratar-a-toda-su-flota.html">considered an employee</a>. This resolution is supported in France by unions and collectives of delivery workers, and also by the <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2021-0257_FR.html">European Parliament</a>.</p>
<p>A report by the Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs recently said the group “strongly believes that formal and effective coverage, adequacy and transparency of social protection systems should apply to all workers including the self-employed.”</p>
<p>If the EU manages to pass legislation to this effect, it has the potential to improve the <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/deliveroo-and-uber-drivers-to-be-given-greater-employee-rights-under-draft-eu-rules-0xbm36l97">lives of millions of platform workers</a>.</p>
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<p><em>Morgane Le Guern from the MGEN Corporate Foundation for Public Health contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169863/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cynthia Srnec received funding from the MGEN Foundation for Public Health for the ALTER project investigating social protections for delivery workers. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cédric Gossart ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>How do we take care of delivery riders who are often exposed to multiple risks? What are their needs in terms of social protection? Researchers asked them these questions directly.Cynthia Srnec, Post-doctorante, Sciences Po Cédric Gossart, Professeur (permanent, plein temps), Institut Mines-Télécom Business School Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1617662021-06-07T18:13:10Z2021-06-07T18:13:10ZTo create a better work environment after COVID-19, we must truly hear employees<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404682/original/file-20210606-23-1vbw9ht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C2187&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A man heads past a clothing store where mannequins sport face masks in Halifax. Retail workers, long-term care workers and teachers say the media has failed to reflect their pandemic experiences.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the third wave of COVID-19 hit Canada and the benefits of <a href="https://canadiangrocer.com/hero-pay-fading-away">the short-lived hero pay</a> had long passed, <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-year-of-covid-19-has-illuminated-the-urgent-need-for-paid-sick-days-154224">workers’ advocates made renewed calls for a paid sick leave policy</a>. </p>
<p>In Ontario, where the third wave was particularly devastating for working-class and racialized people, advocates pointed out that while many workers from these communities were disproportionately deemed “essential,” they were also the least likely to be able to access <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-sickness-benefit-paid-sick-leave-1.5872913">paid sick leave benefits</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Workers manufacture cardboard petitions." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404870/original/file-20210607-28173-9hohd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404870/original/file-20210607-28173-9hohd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404870/original/file-20210607-28173-9hohd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404870/original/file-20210607-28173-9hohd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404870/original/file-20210607-28173-9hohd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404870/original/file-20210607-28173-9hohd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404870/original/file-20210607-28173-9hohd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Workers manufacture partitions made from cardboard and chipboard material in Mississauga, Ont., during the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Media coverage of the pandemic has focused public attention on these and other important workplace issues, such as the <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/burning-out-remote-workers-report-paying-a-price-for-increased-productivity-1.5427741">opportunities and challenges of remote work</a>, the impact of the pandemic on <a href="https://www.chatelaine.com/news/task-force-women-economy-canada/">women’s</a> <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/longterm-female-unemployment-1.5935882">employment</a> and the health and safety of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-peel-region-covid-19-essential-1.6030283">essential workers</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/survey-shows-some-bosses-are-using-the-pandemic-as-an-excuse-to-push-workers-159417">Survey shows some bosses are using the pandemic as an excuse to push workers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>As we hopefully near the end of the pandemic and collectively consider how to transform the workplace in ways that are safer, more equitable and humane, it’s important that the voices and experiences of essential workers are heard.</p>
<p>While media coverage has been crucial in fuelling public discussions about the workplace, our research shows that there’s a disconnect between the way media covered work issues during the pandemic and the stories workers felt were important for the public to understand. </p>
<h2>Survey of workers</h2>
<p>During the first wave of the pandemic, <a href="https://sociology.acadiau.ca/well-being-and-work-in-ns-during-a-pandemic.html">our research team</a> conducted a survey of three groups of essential workers in Nova Scotia — long-term care workers, retail workers and teachers. </p>
<p>Our survey focused primarily on how working conditions had an impact on their health and well-being, but because essential workers were receiving more media attention, we also asked participants to reflect on how the media covered their occupations. </p>
<p>We asked survey participants if the media focused on the most important issues of their work, and 69 per cent of participants responded “no” versus 31 per cent who said “yes.” Broken down by group, retail workers were the most likely to say that the media was not covering the most important issues (75 per cent) followed by teachers (70 per cent) and long-term care workers (58 per cent).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Graphic showing responses" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404325/original/file-20210603-13-azizvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404325/original/file-20210603-13-azizvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=191&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404325/original/file-20210603-13-azizvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=191&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404325/original/file-20210603-13-azizvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=191&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404325/original/file-20210603-13-azizvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=239&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404325/original/file-20210603-13-azizvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=239&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404325/original/file-20210603-13-azizvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=239&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Breakdown by sector of those who responded ‘No’ to the question: Did the media focus on the most important issue of your work?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When asked to describe how they felt about media coverage of their work, some participants expressed gratitude. One long-term care worker told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I think some of the coverage has been good and it has brought to light the ‘gaps’ in the system and how some of the most vulnerable people in society are treated and prioritized.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, about half of the open-ended responses stated that coverage was incomplete, one-sided or that the tone became more critical over time. For example, some long-term care workers felt that coverage focused disproportionately on residents, ignoring workers: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“They have focused on the impact to residents but have not talked about the tremendous work the staff did in LTC facilities in NS to keep everyone safe. The staff were viewed as the carriers [of COVID-19] and would be blamed publicly if an outbreak occurred.” </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A paramedic walks around an ambulance at a nursing home." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404684/original/file-20210606-28232-et9r39.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404684/original/file-20210606-28232-et9r39.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404684/original/file-20210606-28232-et9r39.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404684/original/file-20210606-28232-et9r39.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404684/original/file-20210606-28232-et9r39.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404684/original/file-20210606-28232-et9r39.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404684/original/file-20210606-28232-et9r39.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A paramedic walks around an ambulance at Northwood Manor, one of the largest nursing homes in Atlantic Canada with 585 residents, in Halifax in May 2020, where dozens of residents died of COVID-19.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Retail workers, teachers</h2>
<p>Retail workers noted that media coverage was largely silent on what some saw as unnecessary risks to their health. According to one participant:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“They show us as these lifesavers and glamourize us when in reality, we’re risking our health and safety so Karen can buy Doritos and ice cream at 10 p.m.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Teachers noted that they were often portrayed as complaining, whining or lazy, especially when they expressed concerns about working conditions. As one teacher commented:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“It has been interesting to see praises sung as the extent of our jobs was discussed, and then to be referred to in a negative light as we look for clarification of safety measures for returning to school.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Our participants’ frustrations with media coverage of their work during the first wave of the pandemic underscore the importance of intentionally including workers’ experiences in public dialogue about the economy and public policy. </p>
<p>After all, workers’ lived experiences are not interchangeable with broader questions about business and the labour market, nor can we understand workers’ experiences through a near exclusive focus on policy. Ignoring workers’ experiences leads to missed opportunities for understanding how policy and working conditions can improve. </p>
<h2>Blaming the benefits</h2>
<p>As a case in point, some Republican governors in the United States recently attributed labour shortages in the food services and hospitality sector to <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2021/05/14/gop-governors-reject-extra-federal-unemployment-payments">overly generous COVID-19 unemployment benefits</a> provided by the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/american-rescue-plan/">American Rescue Plan.</a></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="Joe Biden signs a bill at his desk in the Oval Office." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404685/original/file-20210606-21-a0i8t0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404685/original/file-20210606-21-a0i8t0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404685/original/file-20210606-21-a0i8t0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404685/original/file-20210606-21-a0i8t0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404685/original/file-20210606-21-a0i8t0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404685/original/file-20210606-21-a0i8t0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404685/original/file-20210606-21-a0i8t0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">U.S. President Joe Biden signs the American Rescue Plan, a coronavirus relief package, in the Oval Office of the White House in March 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While economists rejected that connection, <a href="https://www.mississippifreepress.org/12527/breaking-point-restaurant-workers-push-back-amid-unemployment-benefit-crackdown/">worker-centred media coverage</a> provided important insight into why workers were turning away from food services. </p>
<p>In post-pandemic Canada, media will also play a crucial role in shaping public understanding of labour conditions. If we’re committed to creating a future of work that is safe and equitable, workers themselves must be a central voice in the stories that media tell.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161766/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elisabeth Rondinelli receives funding from Acadia University/ SSHRC Small Institution Grant. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel K. Brickner receives funding from Acadia University / SSHRC Small Institution Grant. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span><a href="mailto:rebecca.casey@acadiau.ca">rebecca.casey@acadiau.ca</a> receives funding from Acadia University/SSHRC Small Institution Grant.</span></em></p>In post-pandemic Canada, the media will play a big role in shaping public understanding of labour conditions. A future of work that is safe and equitable requires the voices of workers.Elisabeth Rondinelli, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Acadia UniversityRachel K. Brickner, Professor of Politics, Acadia UniversityRebecca Casey, Assistant Professor, Sociology, Acadia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1572542021-04-13T14:43:15Z2021-04-13T14:43:15ZFifty years, five problems - and how Nigeria can work with China in future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392810/original/file-20210331-13-1oqs43e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Vendors in front of their shop in China Town, Ojota, Lagos</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/vendors-sit-in-front-of-their-shop-in-the-deserted-china-news-photo/1203737316?adppopup=true">Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since establishing diplomatic relations on <a href="http://ng.china-embassy.org/eng/zngx/cne/t142490.htm">10 February 1971</a>, Nigeria’s relationship with China has developed into one of the most important bilateral relationships maintained by either country. </p>
<p>Apart from the exchange of high level visits, Chinese companies and money have found their way into Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy. They are involved in <a href="https://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1007%2Fs11366-016-9453-8?author_access_token=WPKvbExnHCczCqgM0LI_Hve4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY7OLvXN-XgPiWgO5WDqKEtaTSOh-plEmXHRWQp1VgNkOrh4kU-Bs4v4HZ-lddROqoFazhV8tFcaZvfUEQCEf6kV1IHlJiRJsOMU13MAf4YvUQ==">a variety of major projects</a> in Nigeria. </p>
<p>As at 31 March 2020, Chinese loans to Nigeria stood at <a href="https://www.dmo.gov.ng/facts-about-chinese-loans-to-nigeria">US$3.121 billion</a>, which is 11.28% of the country’s external debt of US$27.67 billion. The growing trade and presence of Chinese finance in Nigeria has also led to changing narratives about <a href="https://za.boell.org/en/2018/10/09/nigerian-migrants-china-changing-narrative">increased</a> migration on both sides.</p>
<p>Over the years, Nigeria’s relationship with China has broadened and deepened with China’s growing power and interest in securing its regional interests (particularly within the South China Sea), and taking its place as a major global actor. Although Nigeria has largely stayed away from China’s fairly assertive regional posture, it’s affirmation of a commitment to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-38285354">‘One-China Policy’</a> has been important to China. Nigeria demonstrated this by the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-taiwan-nigeria/taiwan-says-nigeria-wants-it-to-move-its-trade-office-from-abuja-idUSKBN14W0IX">forced relocation</a> of Taiwan trade office from Abuja to Lagos in 2017.</p>
<p>The governments of both Nigeria and China often describe their relationship as a <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-11/06/c_137585555.htm">“win win”</a> partnership – a term China often <a href="https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-06-28/President-Xi-China-Africa-cooperation-always-produces-win-win-results-HTaBDoIaDC/index.html">uses</a> to describe its relationships with other African countries.</p>
<p>During former Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to Nigeria in 2006, his host and then Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, <a href="https://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1007%2Fs11366-016-9453-8?author_access_token=WPKvbExnHCczCqgM0LI_Hve4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY7OLvXN-XgPiWgO5WDqKEtaTSOh-plEmXHRWQp1VgNkOrh4kU-Bs4v4HZ-lddROqoFazhV8tFcaZvfUEQCEf6kV1IHlJiRJsOMU13MAf4YvUQ==">remarked</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>From our assessment, this twenty-first century is the century for China to lead the world. And when you are leading the world, we want to be close behind you. When you are going to the moon, we don’t want to be left behind.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Bitter sweet mixture</h2>
<p>But 50 years of Nigeria-China relations has been a bitter-sweet mixture. At independence, Nigeria’s pro-British and pro-West foreign policy <a href="https://www.ijrhss.org/papers/v6-i11/1.pdf">had no dedicated space or support</a> for communist China.</p>
<p>During the <a href="https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/nigerian-civil-war-1967-1970/">Nigeria-Biafra war</a>, the Nigerian government received arms support the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319766091_Strange_Bedfellows_An_Unlikely_Alliance_between_the_Soviet_Union_and_Nigeria_during_the_Biafran_War">from USSR</a> - but not China. It has been <a href="https://academic.oup.com/afraf/article-abstract/75/298/14/102588?redirectedFrom=PDF">reported</a> that China supported Biafra in terms of small arms and ammunition via Tanzania.</p>
<p>After the war, the Nigerian government <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338739945_Gowon's_Three_R's_and_Yar'Adua's_General_Amnesty_an_Analysis_of_Policy_Failures_Security_Challenges_and_Consequences_in_the_West_African_Atlantic_Seaboard">implemented</a> the 3Rs - reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation. It also visited countries in the West and East. It was within this context that Nigeria, along with other African countries, supported the <a href="https://china.usc.edu/united-nations-admits-peoples-republic-china-october-25-1971">1971 resolution</a> to accept China as a full-fledged member of the UN.</p>
<p>An economic exhibition followed in <a href="http://ng.china-embassy.org/eng/zngx/cne/t792194.htm">1972</a> and <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095902167">Yakubu Gowon</a>, Nigeria’s leader, visited Beijing <a href="https://www.wathi.org/two-distant-giants-china-and-nigeria-perceive-each-other/">in 1974</a>. But it was not until the early 1990s that China assumed an <a href="https://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1007%2Fs11366-016-9453-8?author_access_token=WPKvbExnHCczCqgM0LI_Hve4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY7OLvXN-XgPiWgO5WDqKEtaTSOh-plEmXHRWQp1VgNkOrh4kU-Bs4v4HZ-lddROqoFazhV8tFcaZvfUEQCEf6kV1IHlJiRJsOMU13MAf4YvUQ==">important role</a> in Nigeria.</p>
<p>The backlash from the West over the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/24/world/nigerian-military-rulers-annul-election.html">annulment</a> of the June 1993 presidential election forced Nigeria to look more towards China.</p>
<p>Thus, China became an important element for Nigeria’s response to Western sanctions and other forms of pressures, and strategies to force a preferred political outcome. China’s <a href="https://www.stimson.org/2019/conflict-mediation-chinese-characteristics-how-china-justifies-its-non-interference-policy/">non-interference policy</a> in the domestic affairs of other countries fitted well into <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54929254">Sani Abacha</a>’s ultimate goal of becoming a civilian president. The period also coincided with the early beginnings of Beijing’s own “going global” policy that saw it unleash abroad its economic influence and multinational companies.</p>
<p>Under Abacha, an agreement was signed in 1995 with the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation to take up projects -although some reports trace the company’s entrance into the Nigerian market to 1981. What is clear is that Nigeria is the company’s <a href="https://dailytrust.com/we-built-businesses-in-29-states-in-40yrs-ccecc">first overseas market </a>; and currently CCECC works in 29 of Nigeria’s 36 states.</p>
<p>Over the last 50 years, the Sino-Nigerian relationship has developed clear patterns. Roughly, the first 20 years may be described as a political phase. The ensuing decade was a mixed era of political and economic features while the last 20 years or so show an intensification of China’s economic presence in Nigeria. Clearly, the relationship has become more economic as China evolved from a political power to a global economic giant.</p>
<p>However, after a half century of official relationship, the time has become ripe for a review of the balance sheet. </p>
<h2>The “win-win” smiles</h2>
<p>China is one of the most important <a href="https://www.dmo.gov.ng/facts-about-chinese-loans-to-nigeria">lenders of development finance to Nigeria</a>. Chinese firms and finance play a prominent role in Nigeria’s infrastructure development. This is <a href="https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/2018-04/sr_423_chen_final.pdf">notably in the construction</a> of railway lines and road (re)construction across the country. Some <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-maltreatment-of-nigerians-in-china-may-not-end-soon-137828">examples</a> are the $874 million, 187km Abuja-Kaduna rail; the $1.2 billion, 312km Lagos-Ibadan expressway; the $1.1 billion Kano-Kaduna railway lines and the $600 million airport terminals in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano. </p>
<p>Nigeria is also <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5652847de4b033f56d2bdc29/t/5ea7317f6ed4781cebc9c0ce/1588015487828/WP+36+-+Chen+-+Manufacturing+Nigeria.pdf">one</a> of Africa’s top destinations for Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI). Although accurate figures are <a href="https://www.chinausfocus.com/finance-economy/deciphering-chinese-investment-in-nigeria">difficult</a> to ascertain, it is estimated that about 5% of Chinese FDI stocks in Africa and 4.6% of FDI inflow in 2019 <a href="http://www.sais-cari.org/chinese-investment-in-africa">goes to Nigeria</a>.</p>
<p>Data on trade between the two nations for the first 30 years of their relationship is not available. Nevertheless, more reliable data has been available since 2003. Since then trade between the two nations has increased from <a href="http://ng.china-embassy.org/eng/zngx/cne/t142490.htm">US$1.86 billion</a> to an estimated <a href="https://punchng.com/chinese-companies-investments-in-nigeria-hit-20bn-cccn/">US$20 billion</a> in 2019. Trade flows are in China’s favour, with China running a trade surplus of about US$17.5 billion for the years 2015 to 2018. Nigeria sells crude oil to China and, in turn, buys manufactured goods.</p>
<p>China also contributes to the development of Nigeria’s human capital. Many Nigerian students now <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-08/09/c_138296964.htm">study</a> in Chinese schools – with a few on scholarship. Chinese companies are also building <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/03/c_138602919.htm">education</a> and <a href="https://www.huawei.com/en/news/2016/10/huawei-innovation-experience-center-nigeria">training</a> facilities in Nigeria.</p>
<h2>The underbellies of win-win</h2>
<p>The relationship is not without its problems. Aside from <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-maltreatment-of-nigerians-in-china-may-not-end-soon-137828">racism</a> against Nigerians and other black people in China, there are four other problems.</p>
<p>First is the negative impact of Chinese imports on Nigerian industries, of which the biggest casualty has been <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/nigeria-china-arrests/nigeria-arrests-45-illegal-chinese-textile-traders-idUKL5E8GNDBM20120523?edition-redirect=uk">textiles</a>.</p>
<p>For example, in Kano - which is considered to be one of the main textiles cities in <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4006534?seq=1">northern Nigeria</a>, an estimated <a href="https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/09/02/chinese-textile-materials-send-28000-kano-dyers-out-of-business/">28,000 Nigerians</a> lost their jobs to Chinese imports as at 2015. </p>
<p>Nigeria’s shoe industry has also taken <a href="https://dailytrust.com/how-chinese-products-are-killing-made-in-aba-shoes">a big hit</a>. </p>
<p>The second problem relates to the bad treatment of Nigerian workers by their Chinese employers. There have been many <a href="https://books.google.com.ng/books?id=A3XhCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA191&lpg=PA191&dq=between+the+dragon%27s+gift+and+its+claws&source=bl&ots=Bg8CxNqchq&sig=ACfU3U0RQwuwsBqTK7oqr8dUQV6zpZcsvQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj9-9C-7KzvAhV04uAKHf3lARwQ6AEwEHoECBEQAw#v=onepage&q=between%20the%20dragon's%20gift%20and%20its%20claws&f=false">instances of maltreatment</a> of these workers. This raises questions about the ability of Nigerian government to develop – or enforce – appropriate labour laws and conduct regular inspection of work places.</p>
<p>Third is the issue of <a href="https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2011/06/17/chinese-prisoners-invade-nigeria/">unsubstantiated claims </a> about Chinese companies in Nigeria. A good example is the claim that <a href="https://guardian.ng/news/rep-raises-concern-over-import-of-chinese-prisoners-to-work-in-nigeria/">China uses its prisoners</a> in construction projects in Nigeria.</p>
<p>The fourth problem relates to Chinese loans to Nigeria, which often generate concerns among citizens. These range from those that believe they are unsustainable to those that claim that the agreements <a href="https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/406420-amaechi-explains-sovereignty-clause-in-500m-chinese-railway-loan.html">allow China to take over</a> Nigerian assets. These persist because of the secrecy surrounding the loans.</p>
<h2>Preparing for the next 25-50 years</h2>
<p>Nigeria now needs to prepare for the next 25 to 50 years.</p>
<p>China can continue to play an important role in Nigeria’s development. However, Nigeria must urgently address the negative side of the relationship. </p>
<p>First, Nigeria’s regulatory institutions, including the courts, standards setting bodies, ministries and agencies, must apply the laws of the country without fear or favour.</p>
<p>China has <a href="https://www.today.ng/news/nigeria/chinese-companies-obey-nigerian-labour-laws-foreign-minister-338004">said</a> it will not tolerate Chinese companies disregarding Nigeria’s labour laws. But, it is up to the local regulatory institutions to assert the supremacy of the Nigerian law.</p>
<p>Secondly, Chinese textile firms must be <a href="https://shipsandports.com.ng/between-nigerias-1-2bn-smuggled-textiles-and-chinas-2bn-investment/">encouraged</a> to create employment.</p>
<p>Lastly, people-to-people relationship must also be encouraged and strengthened.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157254/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Abdul-Gafar Tobi Oshodi has previously received research funding or travel support from organisations like the KU Leuven, Research Foundation Flanders (FWO), Social Science Research Council (SSRC), University of Edinburgh, Lagos State University, Lagos State Government, Chatham House (i.e. Robert Bosch Stiftung), Centre for Population and Environmental Development (CPED), Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund), Population Media Center (PMC), Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS), Think Tank Initiative, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. He is currently an American Council of Learned Societies’ African Humanities Program (ACLS-AHP) postdoctoral fellow, conducting research for a book entitled ‘Imageries of Mao Zedong's China in Ghanaian newspapers, 1957-1976.’ </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ufo Okeke Uzodike is affiliated with African Heritage Institution (AfriHeritage). The institute is a not-for-profit, non-partisan and independent think tank devoted to economic, social and peace research, capacity building, and networking. AfriHeritage’s history dates back to 2001 when operations commenced (nationally and across Africa) under the name “African Institute for Applied Economics'' (AIAE). Its name was changed in 2012 to African Heritage Institution in order to broaden its focus beyond economic issues. Its vision is for a renascent Africa that is democratic, prosperous and a frontline player in the global economy; and its Mission committed its management to work for positive social change through sustained advocacy to promote transparent and effective management and governance of the Nigerian and African economies. </span></em></p>Nigeria and China should work more on the relationship between their citizens so that the two countries can continue to have good bilateral relations.Abdul-Gafar Tobi Oshodi, Faculty member, Department of Political Science, Lagos State UniversityUfo Okeke Uzodike, Honorary Research Professor, Durban University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1420442020-07-08T05:48:07Z2020-07-08T05:48:07ZMelbourne’s hotel quarantine bungle is disappointing but not surprising. It was overseen by a flawed security industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346271/original/file-20200708-3974-4q595n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C89%2C5910%2C3556&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott Barbour/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In late March, the Victorian government put private security firms in charge of hotel quarantine in Melbourne. This happened without a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-04/victoria-coronavirus-hotel-quarantine-leaves-states-vulnerable/12420970">formal tender process</a>. </p>
<p>It was a decision made at the height of concern about the spread of COVID-19 in Australia. But it is one that has come back to bite Victoria as it stares down a second wave, amid reports of serious <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/how-hotel-quarantine-let-covid-19-out-of-the-bag-in-victoria-20200703-p558og.html">infection control breaches</a> in the hotel quarantine system. </p>
<p>The Andrews government has since announced a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-02/victoria-hotel-quarantine-breaches-inquiry-launched/12414612">judicial inquiry</a> into management of the program.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/six-week-lockdown-for-melbourne-as-record-191-new-cases-in-latest-tally-142171">Six-week lockdown for Melbourne as record 191 new cases in latest tally</a>
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<p>This situation is both distressing and disappointing. But it should come as no surprise to anyone with a passing interest in labour standards in the private security industry or an understanding of governance issues in supply chains. </p>
<p>To put it plainly, the Victorian government used an industry with a long history of <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/archived-media-releases/2011-media-releases/june-2011/20110614-security-follow-up-campaign">non-compliance with minimum standards</a> for a critical public safety job. </p>
<h2>An industry where labour issues are rife</h2>
<p>According to the Australian Security Industry Association, in <a href="https://www.asial.com.au/documents/item/2143">March 2020</a>, there were more than 11,000 security businesses in Australia with more than 147,000 individual security licence holders. </p>
<p>It is not difficult to enter the industry. It does not take much capital to start a business and the workforce is relatively low-skilled. As a result, a large number of security businesses compete for security contracts and there is strong competition on labour costs. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/reports/inquiry-into-the-procurement-of-security-services-by-local-governments/environmental-settings">Fair Work Ombudsman</a> has also identified</p>
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<p>a lack of awareness and education regarding employer obligations and employee entitlements. </p>
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<p>This creates an industry where labour issues are rife. The <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/2020-media-releases/march-2020/20200316-north-coast-security-penalty-media-release">Ombudsman</a> and media regularly highlight issues in the sector, including <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-12/union-says-security-guards-increasingly-poorly-treated/8113384">underpayment of wages</a>, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-17/wilson-security-guards-injured-no-work-cover/7355978">health and safety problems</a> and sub-contracting. </p>
<h2>The problem with sub-contracting</h2>
<p>Sub-contracting is a problem on two levels. Firstly, it often appears in the form known as “<a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/how-we-will-help/templates-and-guides/fact-sheets/rights-and-obligations/independent-contractors-and-employees">sham contracting</a>”. This sees an employer try to hide an employment relationship as an independent contract, to avoid liability for employee entitlements. </p>
<p>Secondly, subcontracting by larger companies to smaller companies dilutes control and responsibility and increases the pressure on costs, especially wages.</p>
<p>It has been reported that at least one of the security companies involved in Victoria’s hotel quarantine system <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/victoria/security-industry-review-exposes-little-training-sham-contracting-20200704-p5590f.html">subcontracted work</a> to a smaller security company.</p>
<p>There are also concerns the industry makes extensive use of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-16/employees-stuck-in-zombie-contracts-of-workchoices-era/9660988">“zombie” agreements</a>, which are agreements made under WorkChoices-era regulations that were not subject to the “<a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/enterprise-agreements-benchbook/commission-approval-process/better-off-overall-test">better off overall test</a>”. This means workers potentially receive lower wages and less generous conditions than they would under the current industry award.</p>
<h2>Pay disputes and ACCC investigations</h2>
<p>The three firms contracted by the Victorian government were MSS Security, Wilson Security and Unified Security. </p>
<p>MSS, one of the largest security providers in Australia, has recently made headlines over a pay dispute with <a href="https://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/6798235/bendigo-security-guards-back-paid-52000/">security guards in Bendigo</a>. Five guards were back-paid $52,000 after a years-long dispute. </p>
<p>Wilson, another large security firm, was the subject of a 2018 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission investigation. This saw them <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/wilson-security-to-refund-740000-for-services-not-provided">pay back more than $700,000</a> to clients after charging for security patrols it did not carry out. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/shocking-yet-not-surprising-wage-theft-has-become-a-culturally-accepted-part-of-business-121038">Shocking yet not surprising: wage theft has become a culturally accepted part of business</a>
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<p>The Victorian government is also in the middle of a review into the <a href="https://engage.vic.gov.au/private-security-review-2020">state’s private security industry</a>, with the specific aims of raising industry standards, improving safety of employees and the community, and ensuring workers are paid properly and fairly. It is due to report by December 2020. </p>
<p>The aims are admirable, but the disconnect between the review and the government’s reliance on security contractors for hotel quarantine raises questions about due diligence within government procurement processes. </p>
<p>According to media reports, the companies were engaged without a formal tender process and selected with <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/victoria/security-industry-review-exposes-little-training-sham-contracting-20200704-p5590f.html">just 24 hours notice</a>. </p>
<p>The third company used for the hotel program - Unified - was not even part of a pre-approved panel of service providers that allowed certain firms to be contracted at short notice.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346239/original/file-20200708-3991-1079vsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346239/original/file-20200708-3991-1079vsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346239/original/file-20200708-3991-1079vsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346239/original/file-20200708-3991-1079vsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346239/original/file-20200708-3991-1079vsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346239/original/file-20200708-3991-1079vsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346239/original/file-20200708-3991-1079vsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Returning overseas travellers have been quarantined in hotels to try and stop the spread of COVID-19.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">James Ross/AAP</span></span>
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<p>This was a decision made in context of fast-moving pandemic. But it was not the only option. </p>
<p>For its hotel quarantine system, NSW has used <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-risk-remains-14-new-cases-of-coronavirus-in-nsw-20200705-p55954.html">police and Australian Defence Force personnel</a> as well as security contractors. Victoria is also now seeking <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/how-hotel-quarantine-let-covid-19-out-of-the-bag-in-victoria-20200703-p558og.html">parole and prison officers</a> to help with its hotel quarantine. </p>
<h2>The real issue here is procurement</h2>
<p>The Victorian government is taking the blame at the moment, but the problem here is much broader and touches all Australian jurisdictions. </p>
<p>The fact that Victoria has relied on private security firms for a hyper-sensitive public health job is testament to an entrenched culture of outsourcing government services all around Australia. In the federal sphere alone, <a href="https://www.finance.gov.au/government/procurement/statistics-australian-government-procurement-contracts-">in 2018-19</a>, there were 78,150 contracts published on AusTender with a combined value of $64.5 billion. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346241/original/file-20200708-19-mgrzmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346241/original/file-20200708-19-mgrzmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346241/original/file-20200708-19-mgrzmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346241/original/file-20200708-19-mgrzmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346241/original/file-20200708-19-mgrzmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346241/original/file-20200708-19-mgrzmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346241/original/file-20200708-19-mgrzmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">There can be serious consequences if outsourced security goes wrong.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott Barbour/ AAP</span></span>
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<p>But as governments are among the biggest procurers of goods and services in Australia, they also have a ready-made lever to influence the behaviour of contracted companies. </p>
<p>All levels of government need to monitor the companies who work for them and use their influence to ensure subcontractors adopt best practices in terms of workforce management and labour standards. </p>
<p>Policy is only as good as its implementation. And it doesn’t help that those in charge of procurement within government are not necessarily on the same page as those in charge of industrial relations or industry policy. </p>
<p>Many non-government organisations have similar issues, where corporate social responsibility is at odds with procurement needs. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/people-who-use-drugs-face-unique-challenges-under-hard-lockdown-the-governments-support-is-vital-142053">People who use drugs face unique challenges under hard lockdown. The government's support is vital</a>
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<p>While the issue seems tricky in highly competitive industries, it can be solved.</p>
<p>A good example here is the <a href="https://www.cleaningaccountability.org.au/">Cleaning Accountability Framework</a> set up in 2014. This is an independent, industry-led body that brings together property owners, companies and employee groups to <a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/sites/default/files/2019-06/Kaine%20Rawling%20%20%282019%29%2031%20AJLL%20305.pdf">solve labour issues</a> in the cleaning sector.</p>
<p>The hotel quarantine program bungle is the wake-up call we need for a similar body for the security industry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142044/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Kaine receives funding from the Australian Research Council on a project entitled "Enforcing Labour Standards in Supply Chains through Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration' and is on the steering committee of the Cleaning Accountability Framework.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emmanuel Josserand receives funding from the Australian Research Council on a project entitled "Enforcing Labour Standards in Supply Chains through Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration' in collaboration with the Cleaning Accountability Framework.</span></em></p>The Victorian government was using a sector known for its non-compliance with minimum labour standards for an important public safety job. That decision has come back to bite it.Sarah Kaine, Associate Professor UTS Centre for Business and Social Innovation, University of Technology SydneyEmmanuel Josserand, Professor of management, Director of the Centre for Business and Social Innovation, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1406102020-06-18T14:48:51Z2020-06-18T14:48:51ZRemote work: Employers are taking over our living spaces and passing on costs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342199/original/file-20200616-23221-1t87dpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C109%2C1920%2C1166&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">COVID-19 has required many employees to work from home and set up home offices, incurring costs and bringing their employer into their private space.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pixabay)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As many office workers adapt to remote work, cities may undergo <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/4/14/21211789/coronavirus-office-space-work-from-home-design-architecture-real-estate">fundamental change</a> if offices remain under-utilized. Who will benefit if working from home becomes the post-pandemic norm?</p>
<p>Employers argue they make <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ceos-are-ready-to-cut-back-office-portfolio-post-pandemic-2020-5">considerable savings</a> on real estate when workers shift from office to home work. However, these savings result from passing costs on to workers. </p>
<p>Unless employees are fully compensated, this could become a variant of what urban theorist <a href="https://antipodeonline.org/2013/06/18/intervention-whose-city/">Andy Merrifield</a> calls parasitic capitalism, whereby corporate profits increasingly rely on extracting value from the public — and now personal — realm, rather than on generating new value. </p>
<h2>The allure of remote work to employers</h2>
<p>After three months of remote work, some companies are moving towards permanent home-based work: <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6968772/shopify-coronavirus-remote-only/">Shopify</a>, for instance, has announced that its employees will continue to work from home after the pandemic. </p>
<p>Indeed, pre-coronavirus estimates suggest savings (for the employer) of about <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/amarhussaineurope/2019/03/29/4-reasons-why-a-remote-workforce-is-better-for-business/#43d90b431a64">US$10,000</a> per year for each employee who works from home. </p>
<p>Though employers are backed by a chorus of <a href="https://distantjob.com/blog/yeah-but-yahoo-learning-from-remote-works-biggest-fail/">remote work proselytizers</a>, others note the loneliness, reduced productivity and inefficiencies of prolonged remote work.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-remote-working-can-increase-stress-and-reduce-well-being-125021">How remote working can increase stress and reduce well-being</a>
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<p>Whatever the personal and productivity impacts of remote work, the savings of US$10,000 per year are the employer’s. In effect, this represents an offloading of costs onto employees — a new type of enclosure. </p>
<p>In 16th-century Britain, powerful landowners expropriated common land from communities, often for the purpose of running lucrative sheep farms. Today, businesses like Shopify appear to be expropriating their employee’s private living space.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342194/original/file-20200616-23213-17thq4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C37%2C5001%2C3109&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342194/original/file-20200616-23213-17thq4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342194/original/file-20200616-23213-17thq4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342194/original/file-20200616-23213-17thq4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342194/original/file-20200616-23213-17thq4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342194/original/file-20200616-23213-17thq4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342194/original/file-20200616-23213-17thq4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As people work from home, employers are saving money while moving into the private spaces of their workers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Piqsels)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The employee’s perspective</h2>
<p>If working from home becomes permanent, employees will have to dedicate part of their private space to work. This requires purchasing desks, ergonomic chairs and office equipment.</p>
<p>It also means having private space dedicated to work: the space must be heated, cleaned, maintained and paid for. Permanent remote work cannot take place at the corner of a kitchen table peering into a laptop while perched on a stool.</p>
<p>How much will this cost employees? </p>
<p>That depends on many things, but for purposes of illustration, I have run some estimates for Montréal. The exercise is simple but important, since it brings these costs out of the realm of speculation into the realm of meaningful discussion.</p>
<h2>Rental costs in Montréal and Westmount</h2>
<p>Taking as a starting point 2019 <a href="https://assets.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/sites/cmhc/data-research/data-tables/urban-rental-market-survey-data/2019/urban-rental-market-survey-data-average-rents-urban-centres-2019.xlsx?rev=aab03298-595b-49cf-9fdd-3d88125f873a">rental values</a> published by Canada’s Mortgage and Housing Corp., I estimate what it would cost to rent an apartment with one extra room in the city of Montréal and in its upmarket suburb, Westmount. Here’s the data:</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342176/original/file-20200616-23221-tsz3ll.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342176/original/file-20200616-23221-tsz3ll.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342176/original/file-20200616-23221-tsz3ll.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342176/original/file-20200616-23221-tsz3ll.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342176/original/file-20200616-23221-tsz3ll.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342176/original/file-20200616-23221-tsz3ll.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342176/original/file-20200616-23221-tsz3ll.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">CMHC rental values for three-bedroom plus apartments in 2019 in Montréal and Westmount.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CMHC</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The CMHC does not report rental values for three-bedroom apartments; it only reports the average rental value for apartments of three bedrooms and more. </p>
<p>Obviously, the average rent for apartments with three bedrooms is less than the average rent for apartments with three bedrooms and more. I assume that if an employee moves from a two-bedroom to a three-bedroom apartment, the increase in rent is 66 per cent of the increase in rent between a two-bedroom and a three-bedroom-plus apartment.</p>
<p>The extra costs (and savings) an employee would incur working from home, and adding an extra room for work purposes, are presented below.</p>
<p>Transportation savings are modest — half the value of a monthly pass, because it’s assumed employees will still need to move around the city for some work purposes even while working from home.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342177/original/file-20200616-23227-5kcx8a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342177/original/file-20200616-23227-5kcx8a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342177/original/file-20200616-23227-5kcx8a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342177/original/file-20200616-23227-5kcx8a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342177/original/file-20200616-23227-5kcx8a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342177/original/file-20200616-23227-5kcx8a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342177/original/file-20200616-23227-5kcx8a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Extra costs to employees of remote work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CMHC</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I made some assumptions here of a monthly cleaning service at $100 a month, $50 to $65 a month in extra utilities, the aforementioned public transit savings of 50 per cent of a monthly pass, and $1,000 a year in office and other equipment.</p>
<p>The total annual costs in the above figures come out of employees’ after-tax income. In Québec, the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/financial-toolkit/taxes-quebec/taxes-quebec-2/5.html">marginal tax rate</a> for earnings of $50,000 and $150,000 a year are 40.5 per cent and 54.8 per cent respectively. </p>
<p>Given the costs presented in the above graph, in order to fully compensate employees for setting up and maintaining office space at home, the employer would need to raise employees’ pay by between $5,871 and $16,285. The lower number corresponds to a move from a one- to two-bedroom apartment in Montréal for an employee earning $50,000 — in other words, a net of $3,493 when taking into account the higher apartment rent. </p>
<p>The higher number corresponds to the same move in Westmount for an employee earning $150,000, or a $7,369 net. An alternative would be for the employer to cover the total costs directly as expenses, and the employee could require a lower increase in income if they obtain some tax rebates for expenses related to their jobs.</p>
<p>These rough calculations show that the savings made by employers when their staff works from home are of similar magnitude to the compensation workers should receive for setting up offices at home.</p>
<h2>What does this mean for offices in cities?</h2>
<p>One of two things may happen:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Employers offload these costs onto employees. This would be a form of expropriation, with employees absorbing production costs that have traditionally been paid by the employer. This represents a considerable transfer of value from employees to employers.</p></li>
<li><p>Employees will be properly compensated. In this case, employer real estate savings will be modest. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>If savings are modest, then the <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/may-2020/covid-19s-effect-on-work-is-a-shift-not-a-major-revolution/">many advantages of working in offices</a> — such as conviviality, rapidity of communication, team-building and acclimatization of new employees — will encourage employers to shelve the idea of remote work and, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2013/02/25/back-to-the-stone-age-new-yahoo-ceo-marissa-mayer-bans-working-from-home/#4965730b1667">like Yahoo in 2013</a>, encourage employees to work (most of the time) from corporate office space.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140610/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Shearmur receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>Some companies are moving permanently to remote work during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. But are they simply passing on costs to employees while invading their personal space?Richard Shearmur, Professor, McGill School of Urban Planning, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1398672020-06-05T02:56:45Z2020-06-05T02:56:45ZFast moves in India-Australia relations risk pushing millions more into modern slavery<p>This week the leaders of India and Australia reaffirmed their mutual interest in closer diplomatic and economic ties.</p>
<p>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison during their long-delayed Thursday “<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pm-modi-holds-india-australia-virtual-summit-with-pm-scott-morrison-key-points/articleshow/76189422.cms">virtual summit</a>”:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>India is committed to expanding its relations with Australia on a wider and faster pace. This is important not only for our two countries, but also for the Indo-Pacific region and the world.</p>
<p>But I will not say that I am satisfied with this pace. When a leader like you is leading our friend country, then the criteria for the pace of development in our relations should also be ambitious.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Australia should be ambitious for its friendship with India. We have a long-term interest in India developing as another prosperous, harmonious democracy. </p>
<p>Standing in the way of that is India’s chaotic web of labour laws. There are hundreds at both national and state levels. They’ve long been a disincentive to trade and investment because of the compliance challenges for law-abiding foreign businesses. </p>
<p>Yet those same laws are so loosely enforced domestically that dodgy and unlawful working conditions are rife. </p>
<p>Indeed of India’s workforce of 500 million, it is estimated <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/national-database-of-workers-in-informal-sector-in-the-works/articleshow/73394732.cms?from=mdr">about 450 million</a> are in the “informal sector”, with no minimum pay rates, let alone other benefits.</p>
<p>So there are good reasons for Australia to support India reducing its sheer number of labour laws. But there are also good reasons to encourage it to enforce the commitments required of both nations under international labour conventions.</p>
<p>In the shadows of the agenda to accelerate trade and investment is the risk of pushing more Indian workers into slave conditions. </p>
<h2>450 million informal workers</h2>
<p>In truth, no one <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/sectors/jobs/labour-law-reforms-no-one-knows-actual-size-india-informal-workforce-not-even-govt/story/364361.html">knows the exact size</a> of India’s informal sector. Statistics are unreliable for work defined as “disorganised”. </p>
<p>As in other countries, India’s COVID-19 response has hit these workers in lowly paid, insecure manual labour hardest. This was amplified by the severity and swiftness of measures.</p>
<p>Modi’s March 24 orders for “<a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/resources/article31190830.ece/BINARY/PM%20announes%2021-day%20lockdown.pdf">a complete lockdown</a>” were issued at 8:58pm, and took effect at midnight. </p>
<p>Shops, markets, factories and construction sites were shut down. All public transport services were stopped. India’s population of more than 1.3 billion people was told to stay home. </p>
<h2>139 million migrant wokers</h2>
<p>But hundred of thousands had to get home first. </p>
<p>India has an estimated <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/india-has-139-million-internal-migrants-we-must-not-forget-them/">139 million</a> internal “migrant workers”. They come from poor regions all across India to find work in the <a href="http://www.walkthroughindia.com/offbeat/top-10-richest-cities-india-based-gdp/">wealthiest cities</a> such as Mumbai, Delhi and Surat. Typical jobs are in building and manufacturing, where the average daily pay rate is about <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/india/wages-in-manufacturing">US$4.60</a>. </p>
<p>With no work, no money, in fear of having no food and of catching the coronavirus, migrant workers have for weeks queued at train and bus stations for restricted services to get home. </p>
<p>Tens of thousands opted to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/05/they-treat-us-like-stray-dogs-migrant-workers-flee-india-cities/">walk home</a>. </p>
<p>A survey of about 3,200 of these walkers in early April found nearly a third were in debt, usually to money lenders from their communities. </p>
<p>Bhagwan Das, who walked for three days to get back to his village after losing his job as a construction worker in Delhi, told his story to the <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20200413065535-edq5n">Thomson Reuters Foundation</a> </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Unable to maintain repayments on the 60,000 rupee (US$787) loan he took out in 2017 for his daughter’s wedding, Das had no choice but to offer his son’s labour to service the rising debt.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>8 million modern slaves</h2>
<p>The Global Slavery Index 2018 estimates <a href="https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/regional-analysis/asia-and-the-pacific/">about 8 million</a> Indians are in some form of modern slavery – in situations were they are forced to work under threat; are owned or controlled by another; are dehumanised or treated as a commodity; and are not free to leave. </p>
<p>Globally there is an estimated <a href="https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/highlights/">40 million</a> modern slaves. About 25 million are in forced labour. This may be through use or threats of violence, physical or emotional restraints, or bonded labour – also known as debt bondage, forcing people to work to pay off a debt.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/human-trafficking-and-slavery-still-happen-in-australia-this-comic-explains-how-112294">Human trafficking and slavery still happen in Australia. This comic explains how</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Debt bondage is the most <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20504&LangID=E">prevalent</a> form of forced labour. In India, a <a href="http://www.indianet.nl/pdf/FabricOfSlavery.pdf">2016 investigation</a> in the southern state of Tamil Nadu (India’s largest producer of cotton yarn) found 351 of 743 spinning mills used so-called “Sumangali” schemes to lure young women with the promise of lump sums for use as a dowry. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>In practice this lump sum is made up of withheld wages, and used as a means to bind workers to the mill. Girls only receive the lump sum if they fulfil their three to five years contract period, under exploitative and unhealthy conditions. Girls who fail to do so, and many do because of health problems, abuse and exhaustion, most often do not receive the withheld wages. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This despite bonded labour being outlawed since 1976, and dowries since 1961.</p>
<h2>Suspending labour laws</h2>
<p>So clearly law enforcement in India needs work. As things stand, however, the push is on to do even less. Half a dozen of India’s 28 states have already signalled their desire to suspend <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/what-labour-law-changes-mean-coronavirus-6403611/">labour laws</a>. </p>
<p>The northern state of Uttar Pradesh, for example, summarily suspended most laws including its minimum wage act. It reportedly plans to maintain most suspensions <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/up-clears-ordinance-exempting-businesses-from-labour-laws/article31529945.ece">for three years</a>.</p>
<p>As Radhicka Kapoor, of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, has put it, these policies are “creating an enabling environment for exploitation”.</p>
<h2>Upholding commitments</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/economic-revival/ilo-reaches-out-to-pm-modi-over-labour-law-changes-in-various-states-120052500335_1.html">International Labour Organisation</a>, which sets international labour standards, has written to Modi asking him to ensure India upholds its international commitments. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/modern-slavery-bill-a-step-in-the-right-direction-now-businesses-must-comply-99135">Modern Slavery Bill a step in the right direction – now businesses must comply</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Both India and Australia are signatories to the International Labour Organsiation’s Declaration on the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which <a href="https://www.ilo.org/declaration/lang--en/index.htm">states</a> “these rights are universal” and apply “to all people in all states - regardless of the level of economic development”.</p>
<p>Ensuring they apply to all of Australia’s supply chains is crucial for the Morrison government to continue to be “a world leader in eradicating modern slavery” – as Home Affairs Minister Jason Woods declared just <a href="https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/jasonwood/Pages/australian-government-world-leader-eradicating-modern-slavery.aspx">three days before</a> the Modi-Morrison meeting.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139867/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bodean Hedwards does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the shadows of the agenda to accelerate India-Australia trade and investment is the risk of pushing Indian workers into slave conditions.Bodean Hedwards, Lecturer, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1353732020-04-08T15:08:07Z2020-04-08T15:08:07ZCOVID-19 tax relief: a snapshot of what’s out there<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326076/original/file-20200407-182957-ty8h3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">COVID-19 public health measures are stalling economic activity</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Across the globe, many governments have been forced to lockdown their countries in an attempt to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of African countries have adopted similar measures. This has stalled, if not brought to a halt, economic activity, resulting in loss of income for businesses, workers (both in formal and informal sectors) as well as the self-employed. </p>
<p>In response, governments worldwide have implemented <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19">economic and tax relief packages</a> to help businesses and workers mitigate the impact of these measures. </p>
<p>The use of these tools varies across countries making direct comparisons difficult. </p>
<p>To provide some guidance, the <a href="http://www.oecd.org/tax/forum-on-tax-administration/publications-and-products/tax-administration-responses-to-covid-19-measures-taken-to-support-taxpayers.pdf">Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)</a> has developed useful design features based on examples from across the globe. Applicable to both developed and developing nations, they are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>additional time for dealing with tax affairs;</p></li>
<li><p>quicker refunds to taxpayers;</p></li>
<li><p>temporary changes in audit policy and ways to provide quicker tax certainty; and </p></li>
<li><p>enhanced taxpayer services and communication initiatives.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>So which tax relief ideas are the best? Below I sift through the various options and identify ideas that could be useful examples to policy makers, including those in South Africa.</p>
<h2>Direct payment</h2>
<p>The first type of tax relief measure extends immediate financial aid to taxpayers by virtue of a cash payment from the revenue authority. It can take the form of a grant, subsidy or contribution from the government. A case in point is the recently enacted stimulus payments of the US.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/house-passes-coronavirus-stimulus-bill-payments-business-loans-hospital-aid-2020-3?IR=T">President Donald Trump</a> signed a massive $2 trillion economic relief package with the aim of easing the financial burden caused by COVID-19. Known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3548/text">Act</a> , the relief <a href="https://www.foley.com/en/insights/publications/2020/03/cares-act-summary-of-tax-provision">plan</a> includes assistance to the unemployed, zero-interest loans, stimulus payments to individuals and more. </p>
<p>The stimulus payments will be administered by the Inland Revenue Service and are based on a person’s adjusted gross income. These payments are essentially an advance on a tax credit and will be available for the whole year.</p>
<p>In Germany, a state-funded program dating from World War II and used to great effect during the 2008 financial crisis, is again being implemented. The principle of short-time work (<a href="https://www.bmas.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/kug-faq-kurzarbeit-und-qualifizierung-englisch.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=5">“Kurzarbeit”</a>) is aimed at helping companies navigate difficult periods without having to resort to large-scale layoffs, disrupt businesses and the economy. </p>
<p>The employer and employee reach an agreement to cut working hours in accordance with labour law provisions, with the Kurzarbeit covering 60% of lost wages. When the situation improves, working hours can be increased or returned to normal very quickly, without the company having to find and hire new workers. </p>
<p>It’s a win-win for both the employer and employee.</p>
<h2>Tax holiday</h2>
<p>A tax holiday is a period of time during which the collection of a tax is suspended, reduced or postponed. The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19">UK</a>, for example, waived business property taxes for retail, hospitality, leisure and nursery businesses for 12 months. <a href="https://www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2020/italy/covid-19-extraordinary-tax-measures-in-italy">Italy</a> has extended tax deadlines for residents and companies in the so-called “red zones” of the country.</p>
<p>In the US, a 10% excise tax is usually levied on certain early withdrawals from retirement plans. The CARES Act waives this 10% penalty in respect of COVID-19 related distributions of up to $100 000. Above this amount, the recipient can avoid any income tax by repaying the distributed amount as a rollover within three years.</p>
<p><a href="https://home.kpmg/us/en/home/insights/2020/03/tnf-spain-tax-relief-other-relief-for-companies-response-to-coronavirus.html">Spanish</a> SMEs and self-employed people will be allowed to defer income, corporate and VAT tax obligations for six months, with the first three months not subject to interest. And in Austria, <a href="https://www.roedl.com/insights/covid-19/corona-austria-economy-measures-crisis-management-fund">taxpayers</a> can apply for a reduction of advance payments of personal income or corporate tax if they can demonstrate a loss of revenue as a result of Covid-19 up until 31 October 2020.</p>
<h2>Other tax relief</h2>
<p>Then there are other categories that can be loosely grouped together: reduced tax rates and tax credits (or rebates), which decrease the calculated tax liability, thus resulting in less tax owed to the revenue authority. For their part, exemptions, deductions and allowances all have the effect of reducing the taxable amount on which a tax is levied. Ultimately, it results in less tax paid, but this benefit may not be felt immediately. </p>
<p>These <a href="https://www.internationaltaxreview.com/article/b1kjjn20mxcfyj/china-announces-tax-relief-measures-to-tackle-coronavirus-disruption">forms of tax relief</a> don’t put an instant strain on government funds. But they also don’t offer the same speedy cash flow assistance to taxpayers.</p>
<p>In Italy, businesses will receive a 50% tax credit for sanitation expenditure, for example daily cleaning services, masks and other precautionary measures to curb the spread of the virus. New Zealand taxpayers can opt to receive refunds related to R&D tax credits one year early. </p>
<p>Many countries have reduced Value-added Tax (VAT) rates or introduced exemptions. For example, China has introduced a VAT exemption on “lifestyle services”. This includes medical, catering, accommodation and personal services (such as hairdressing). Norway has temporarily dropped its VAT rate from 12% to 8%, with VAT payments postponed. <a href="https://www.ey.com/en_gr/tax/tax-alerts/covid-19-emergency-tax-measures-adopted-in-greece">Greece</a> has introduced a four-month suspension of VAT payments, and the UK three months. Greece has also lowered VAT on products related to the prevention of the spread of the virus.</p>
<p>Enhanced deductions or allowances serve as an incentive for companies to upscale capital investments. For instance, China allows a 100% deduction for investment in equipment to expand production capacity. Previously, only equipment valued up to $700 000 qualified.</p>
<h2>South Africa’s relief measures</h2>
<p>South Africa’s <a href="https://www.sars.gov.za/AllDocs/Documents/customsandexcise/Tax%20Measures%20FAQs%2003042020.pdf">tax relief package</a> contains four overarching proposals.</p>
<p>First, the existing Employment Tax Incentive regime is expanded by the introduction of a subsidy of up to R500 a month for the next four months. Certain categories of employees qualify. An estimated 4 million workers will benefit from this. The South African Revenue Service will accelerate employment tax incentive reimbursements from twice a year to monthly. This will help compliant employers with their cash flow.</p>
<p>The second and third proposals relate to employees’ and provisional taxes.
Tax compliant SMEs that meet certain criteria will be allowed to delay 20% of the employees’ tax liabilities and a portion of their provisional tax payments without penalties and interest for a number of months. About 75 000 SMEs are expected to be assisted by this intervention.</p>
<p>The fourth proposal creates a special tax dispensation for funds established to assist with the COVID-19 disaster relief effort. These funds, which include the national <a href="https://www.solidarityfund.co.za/">Solidarity Response Fund</a>, may be approved as public benefit organisations. As a result, donations made to such tax-approved funds qualify for the usual 10 percent income tax deduction.</p>
<p>As South Africa finalises its <a href="https://www.sars.gov.za/AllDocs/LegalDoclib/Drafts/LAPD-LPrep-Draft-2020-16a%20-%20Draft%20Disaster%20Management%20Tax%20Relief%20Bill%20-%201%20April%202020.pdf">Disaster Management Tax Relief Bill</a>, a couple of suggestions come to mind. These include allowing a full tax deduction for donations to approved COVID-19 disaster-relief funds and welfare efforts. Another is to grant zero-rated VAT on hand sanitisers and related medical supplies.</p>
<p>Perhaps the examples highlighted in this article could provide inspiration of what is possible in a time of crisis?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135373/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Lee-Ann Steenkamp is affiliated with the South African Institute of Tax Professionals (SAIT).</span></em></p>Governments worldwide have put in place economic and tax relief measures to mitigate the impact on businesses and workers of drastic public health measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemicLee-Ann Steenkamp, Senior lecturer in taxation, University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB), Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1343442020-03-25T16:51:57Z2020-03-25T16:51:57ZThe coronavirus is changing how we work — possibly permanently<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322781/original/file-20200325-194447-1n0nogr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many of the tasks employees are doing now were not imagined even weeks ago. People are becoming crisis managers, sanitation monitors and work-from-home co-ordinators. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-unemployment-claims-reach-nearly-one-million-as-businesses-battered-by/">Nearly a million people in Canada have already applied for employment insurance</a>,
and analysts are predicting that coronavirus-related <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2020/03/20/bank-of-america-three-million-people-may-file-for-unemployment-benefits/#109092b26373">jobless claims in the United States could exceed three million</a>. Job loss is only one of the many effects of COVID-19 on work and workers. </p>
<p>These effects cascade beyond accelerating the ongoing <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-creating-huge-stressful-experiment-working-home/607945/">work-from-home movement</a>. Some of these changes could persist well beyond the pandemic itself. In the midst of COVID-19 and measures being taken to contain its impact, many employees are not just doing their jobs but transforming their job routines. </p>
<p>Coronavirus is eliminating the tasks that some employees normally do. There are no clients to consult, no trips to book, no students to teach, no concerts to perform and organize, no products to deliver, no new data to input. </p>
<p>Eliminating positions is one possible response to this shift. Another is for employees, together with their managers and coworkers, to rearrange work and take on different responsibilities. </p>
<p>Many of the tasks employees are doing now were not imagined even weeks ago. People are becoming crisis managers, sanitation monitors and work-from-home co-ordinators.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322782/original/file-20200325-194442-1wzwr02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322782/original/file-20200325-194442-1wzwr02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322782/original/file-20200325-194442-1wzwr02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322782/original/file-20200325-194442-1wzwr02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322782/original/file-20200325-194442-1wzwr02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322782/original/file-20200325-194442-1wzwr02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322782/original/file-20200325-194442-1wzwr02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A Spanish street is disinfected due to the coronavirus outbreak.</span>
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<p>Meanwhile, workers in overrun government offices, hospitals, grocery stores, as well as those operating out of the public eye in supply chains, are having to find new ways of working that allow them to manage the onslaught of professional responsibilities they now face. </p>
<h2>Startups will see deeper effects</h2>
<p>While these effects are widespread, they are likely to be more extreme for people working in small enterprises, and especially in startups. Following the coronavirus-fuelled decline in financial markets, startup investors are facing new pressures and they’re passing them on to the entrepreneurs they’re funding. </p>
<p>The CEO of one startup <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/project/Beyond-Warm-Bodies-The-Unintended-Consequences-of-Hiring">I have been studying</a> has been directed by his main investor to reduce costs by 50 per cent. He’s also closing a physical office, taking over product ownership, working to motivate and retain people in key positions and create some sense of social cohesion, all while mapping out a sales strategy for a marketplace that is in constant flux.</p>
<p>He’s doing all of this from home while helping home-school two young children. His days never had a predictable pattern before the pandemic but this represents a new extreme. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322783/original/file-20200325-194438-vu7ffo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322783/original/file-20200325-194438-vu7ffo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322783/original/file-20200325-194438-vu7ffo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322783/original/file-20200325-194438-vu7ffo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322783/original/file-20200325-194438-vu7ffo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322783/original/file-20200325-194438-vu7ffo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322783/original/file-20200325-194438-vu7ffo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Some workers are home-schooling their kids while holding down jobs during the pandemic.</span>
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<p>This startup’s operational shifts due to COVID-19 don’t end with the CEO’s job. The workers at his startup have been prepared in many ways. With three offices spread globally and an existing policy that encouraged occasional work from home, video-conferencing and remote work were nothing new. </p>
<p>But now all of his remaining employees are changing their work habits as they figure out how to replicate practices like face-to-face job interviews and informal contact. </p>
<h2>What now?</h2>
<p>Similarly, employees in more established organizations are also changing their work routines. An orchestra’s artistic co-ordinator I know went from anticipating putting in 90-hour weeks managing logistics for a concert series to a nearly blank slate, with little certainty about what work she should now be doing.</p>
<p>She started by unravelling arrangements for the week’s concerts and then regrouped. She shifted to working on the next wave of concerts but that was soon cancelled. She then moved to planning for next year’s programming but that still wasn’t enough to fill her hours.</p>
<p>Finally, she offered her services to help the marketing department with short translations and editing, and doubled down on efforts to launch a symphonic-composition competition that will help artists whose livelihoods have been hurt by the coronavirus. </p>
<p>Within my own university, the same as at other schools, instruction has moved from in-person classrooms to a remote format. The ripple effects are far-reaching.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-pushes-universities-to-switch-to-online-classes-but-are-they-ready-132728">Coronavirus pushes universities to switch to online classes — but are they ready?</a>
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<p>Instructors are scrambling to convert materials, learning specialists are leading task forces and workshops to ease the transition and instructors with more remote-teaching experience are mentoring those who have none. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, researchers are working to find ways to do their research from home. </p>
<h2>Restructuring work</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X20160000047016">Research</a> suggests that creating work structures on the fly is not unusual. <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/11ae/340533620bfd31b505b80e114a928c54287a.pdf">Various unexpected events</a> — new technologies, regulations, labour disputes — and more quotidian surprises and problems provide occasions for the restructuring of work. But those events don’t come packaged with clear directives about how that work should be structured. </p>
<p>Following these shocks, those on the shop floor, at the lab bench or in the C-suite scramble to rearrange work, and sometimes those rearrangements become permanent. </p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1110.0737">in my research</a> I show that, following the introduction of new automated DNA sequencing technology, work settled into different patterns across a series of labs as those using the new equipment daily created models for work arrangements.</p>
<p>Coronavirus is providing another requirement to restructure how we work. It remains to be seen when and how tasks will settle, and whether these changes will hurt or help workers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134344/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Cohen receives funding from SSHRC. </span></em></p>The coronavirus pandemic has forced employees and businesses to change the way they operate. Some of those changes may be permanent.Lisa Cohen, Associate Professor, Business Administration, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1308372020-02-24T13:18:00Z2020-02-24T13:18:00ZSouth Africa’s spaza shops: how regulatory avoidance harms informal workers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/312791/original/file-20200130-41490-lggoxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South African corporates ignore exploitative business practices to get their products onto spaza shelves. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Small informal retailers are a ubiquitous feature of any developing country’s urban landscape. Known as spaza shops in South Africa, they are an important, even vital, component in the townships. Numbering over 100,000 across the nation, they make critical contributions to local food security, self-employment and community cohesion.</p>
<p>In the last decade, the sector has undergone extensive change. A new class of traders has emerged. They have often – but not always – been foreign. For this reason, this changing character of South Africa’s spaza sector has become associated with chauvinistic and xenophobic portrayals of immigrant shopkeepers.</p>
<p>On the one hand, angry locals, often egged on by opportunist politicians, have accused foreign traders of destroying South African livelihoods. On the other hand, those questioning this xenophobia have tended to argue that the new class of traders simply represent ‘better entrepreneurs’ who are out-competing less dynamic traders. </p>
<p>But much more is going on than simply the replacement of locals by foreigners. Rather, the structure of the spaza sector itself is changing.</p>
<p>To get to the bottom of changes taking place the Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation and PLAAS conducted <a href="http://repository.uwc.ac.za/xmlui/handle/10566/4870">business censuses and interviews</a> with 1,100 township grocery retailers across all nine provinces of South Africa.</p>
<p>What we found should give politicians and policy makers pause for thought. Our findings suggest that South Africa’s rule of law is in danger of becoming a casualty in an industry that has rapidly adapted in order to compete and survive.</p>
<h2>Changing retail landscape</h2>
<p>Operating from rural, peri-urban and urban residential townships, virtually all spazas we encountered were unregistered and worked exclusively in cash. That, indeed, is why they are classified as ‘informal’ businesses. </p>
<p>But this classification masked important differences. The shops we visited typically reflected one of two business types. On the one hand, about one-third were ‘survivalist’ owner-operators trading from their homes. These resembled the ‘traditional’ spaza shop. These businesses were informal because they had no choice. They were simply too small, or the owners too poor, to formalise and thereby enter the legal framework.</p>
<p>The remaining two thirds were also informal, but were so by choice. They differed from their survivalist counterparts in that they were larger, operating from dedicated premises. They offered a wider range of stock, gave credit and had business ties with wholesalers. The also employed staff. The field work revealed about 45% of the shop keepers we encountered were in fact employees.</p>
<p>Rather than being owner operators they tended to work for those who owned the larger upstream wholesale business that supplied their outlets with stocks. Some of these upstream warehouses operated in networks with turnovers of hundreds of thousands of Rands per week. We also found extensive South African supermarket chains and shopping-malls in the retail mix. </p>
<p>The rise of these larger vertically integrated spaza outlets and supermarkets has intensified business competition. Many smaller (mostly South African) independent businesses have exited the market. </p>
<p>This new class of informal traders has brought about important social benefits. These include access to a wide variety of cheap consumer goods. But this has come at a cost - especially where the active avoidance regulation has become an explicit business strategy. </p>
<h2>Exploitation</h2>
<p>The spaza employees we encountered predominantly worked in poor conditions. Foreign nationals were particularly vulnerable to exploitation.</p>
<p>More than half of those we interviewed reported working more than 15 hours per day, seven-days-a-week. Some were earning as little as R400 (about US$27,22) per month. Some shop assistants claimed to be working towards becoming shareholders in the business. But more than three quarters of our sample reported being employees only. None had written employment contracts, and all worked for cash wages.</p>
<p>Half of the Cape Town employees we interviewed in a follow-on investigation (and many interviewed elsewhere) reported that employers held back their pay. In some cases, a portion of the wages was paid to the employee and the balance reportedly paid to their family elsewhere (commonly in their home country). </p>
<p>In Cape Town, over half the Ethiopian respondents claimed to be repaying financial debts to their bosses for travel expenses to South Africa. In almost all cases employers retained foreign employees’ passports. Across the sample, 71% of spaza employees were required to sleep in the building, with nearly half sleeping (illegally) in the shopfront.</p>
<p>These conditions clearly violate the country’s <a href="https://www.saica.co.za/Technical/LegalandGovernance/Acts/BasicConditionsofEmploymentAct/tabid/3069/language/en-ZA/Default.aspx">labour laws</a>, which stipulated at the time that retail workers must earn at least R3,701 per month for a 45-hour work week. The law stipulates 12 hours of rest in each 24-hour period, or 36 consecutive rest hours per week, including Sundays, unless agreed in writing.</p>
<p>Further, the working conditions we encountered trigger the great majority of the working conditions identified by the UK Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority as <a href="https://www.gla.gov.uk/who-we-are/modern-slavery/who-we-are-modern-slavery-spot-the-signs">warning flags</a> that people might be working as bonded labour.</p>
<p>If our sample is anything to go by, there may be many thousands of shopkeeper employees who toil behind the sales counter under these circumstances.</p>
<h2>Bypassing laws</h2>
<p>The exploitative nature of employment in the spaza sector directly results from the embrace of informality by operators that are large enough to conform to the rules of the formal sector. We categorise this form of entrepreneurship as ‘informalist’. This is a new form of informality where an otherwise legitimate activity (retailing groceries) relies on labour and retailing practices that evade regulatory oversight. These practices break the law. </p>
<p>Informalist strategies for spaza competitiveness capitalise on the concessions accorded to survivalist enterprises. These include municipal allowances for home-based businesses in townships. But these businesses then bypass other important forms of regulation including labour laws. This brings negative implications for inclusive growth, fair work, and rule-of-law.</p>
<p>An increasing number of politicians have simplified this development. They have done so by stoking social tensions by scapegoating these foreign-national spaza shop workers. As our research shows, these workers are themselves deeply vulnerable. They are operating at the coalface of xenophobic hatred and crime. </p>
<p>One problem is that debates about informal township businesses have been framed in an unhelpful way. For example, it is assumed that the regulatory choice lies between ‘protectionist’ regulations favouring South Africans, or deregulation and tolerance of immigrant entrepreneurs. This approach underestimates the seriousness of the situation that has evolved and misrepresents the nature of the regulatory choices required.</p>
<h2>What’s to be done</h2>
<p>The South African government already has the capacity to create a fair and supportive regulatory framework. All that’s required is for the South African Departments of Labour, Home Affairs, State Security, South African Revenue Service, the South African Police Service, and local municipalities to limit regulatory avoidance in township grocery markets. </p>
<p>Secondly, municipalities must stop succumbing to the corporate developers of shopping malls in the townships. They must also reconsider expansion of supermarket chains into the heart of townships. Both these developments have forced the township grocery sector into a choice between shutting down or embracing informalist business practices. </p>
<p>Responsibility also lies with South Africa’s corporate manufacturers and wholesalers. They have ignored exploitative business practices in order to get their brands and products onto spaza shelves. </p>
<p>One of the losers in this transition have been South Africa’s traditional spaza shops. But they are not the only victims. There are potentially thousands of vulnerable spaza shop employees – South African <em>and</em> foreign – who are labouring under conditions clearly proscribed by South African law.</p>
<p><em>Leif Petersen, a co-director of the <a href="http://livelihoods.org.za/">Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation</a>, was the lead investigator of this project and is a co-author of this article</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130837/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andries du Toit does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Informal retailers that dot South Africa’s townships have changed dramatically, but at great cost - avoidance of regulation and exploitation of employees.Andries du Toit, Director, Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western CapeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1036732018-10-05T06:12:13Z2018-10-05T06:12:13ZHow to stop workers being exploited in the gig economy<p>Hot on the heels of the gig economy company Foodora shutting up shop in Australia amid accusations about its labour abuses, a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Future_of_Work_and_Workers/FutureofWork/Report">Senate Committee report</a> has recommended more robust laws to protect gig economy workers. But this doesn’t go far enough.</p>
<p>Foodora, which uses bicycle couriers to deliver food, says it has pulled out of Australia to focus on opportunities in other countries. Legal cases against it might also have had something to do with it. </p>
<p>The Fair Work Ombudsman took the company to court for sham contracting – treating its employees as independent contractors to avoid paying minimum wages, annual leave, sick leave and superannuation. The Australian Taxation Office is pursuing Foodora for unpaid employee entitlements. </p>
<p>The Fair Work Ombudsman has now dropped its case. </p>
<p>In two other cases the Fair Work Commission has decided that other gig workers – namely Uber drivers – are contractors for the purpose of unfair dismissal laws.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-rights-do-workers-have-to-getting-paid-in-the-gig-economy-70281">Explainer: what rights do workers have to getting paid in the gig economy?</a>
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<p>So the Senate committee report offers the best relief on the horizon to the “gig workers” that companies such as Foodora have used to drive down employment costs. </p>
<p>The report recommends changing the legal definition of employee to capture gig workers and ensure they are fully protected by Australia’s industrial relations system. </p>
<p>This would no doubt help. But it might not be enough to protect gig workers into the future.</p>
<p>The work rights of these gig workers needs to be clear from the start. The federal government not only needs to broaden the definition of employee but also empower the Fair Work Commission to set minimum rates and conditions for gig workers even if classified as contractors. </p>
<h2>Manipulating legal loopholes</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Future_of_Work_and_Workers/FutureofWork">Senate Committee to examine the future of work and workers</a> was established in October 2017. Its scope included considering “the adequacy of Australia’s laws to deal with the ”<a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Future_of_Work_and_Workers/FutureofWork/Terms_of_Reference">employment landscape of tomorrow</a>“. Its recommendations are directly relevant to the rise of the gig economy. </p>
<p>The crucial question has been whether gig workers are employees or independent contractors. </p>
<p>This legal distinction has allowed companies to circumvent or evade employee entitlements by engaging workers purportedly as contractors. Digital platform providers such as Uber, Deliveroo and Foodora have aggressively touted their workforce as "partners” or even “micro-entrepreneurs”. They describe themselves as providers of technology, not of services. </p>
<p>In Britain, the Employment Appeals Tribunal has disagreed. It has ruled that Uber is indeed a provider of transport services, and enters into dependent work arrangements with transport workers.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/people-power-is-finally-making-the-gig-economy-fairer-101309">People power is finally making the gig economy fairer</a>
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<p>Similarly, the Senate committee report does not regard gig economy workers as independent contractors “in the true spirit of the term”. It argues that if a worker depends on a company for work and income, and the company profits from their labour, they are employees. It therefore recommends changing the legal definition of employee to include what gig workers do. </p>
<h2>Work status shouldn’t matter</h2>
<p>But effective government action to protect gig economy workers cannot solely rely on changing the legal definition of employee. This just sets up another artificial boundary that could be circumvented. </p>
<p>By tweaking their arrangements with their workforce, gig companies could find new grounds to argue their workers are contractors, not employees.</p>
<p>Broadening the definition of employee is not enough. It is also necessary to give the Fair Work Commission the power to inquire into any gig economy work arrangements and determine if the workers are getting fair pay and conditions.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/protecting-the-rights-of-the-digital-workforce-in-the-gig-economy-45838">Protecting the rights of the digital workforce in the 'gig' economy</a>
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<p>This would be a better, and cheaper, approach than having to test the legality of a work arrangement in court. Gig companies would be on notice that they have to pay their workers fairly, regardless of whether they call them employees or contractors.</p>
<h2>Keeping up with technology</h2>
<p>Better regulating the gig economy is important to ensure everyone benefits from technological change. We need to consider the gains to workers, not just companies and consumers. Is technology going to provide quality jobs and increase people’s control over their work? Or is it going to be used to circumvent the basic minimum wage and drive down working conditions? </p>
<p>These questions about the emerging gig economy are part of a wider social conversation we need to have about technological change and the challenges of the digital divide. For starters, there needs to be a focus on transparency about who profits the most from technology. We need to implement technology in terms of net social benefit.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103673/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Rawling has received and receives funding from the Australian Research Council on a number of projects. However, this article does not directly arise from any of those funded projects. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Kaine does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The crucial question is not whether gig workers are employees or independent contractors, but what rights they ought to have as contractors.Michael Rawling, Senior Lecturer, University of Technology SydneySarah Kaine, Associate Professor UTS Centre for Business and Social Innovation, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/955402018-05-24T07:24:09Z2018-05-24T07:24:09ZHow Britain can avoid a post-Brexit race to the bottom in labour standards<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219586/original/file-20180518-42245-1pjelbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Willem De Meyer on Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is a risk that Brexit could erode workers’ wages and conditions, particularly if the British government deregulates employment laws and undercuts European Union standards, <a href="https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/conservative-party/theresa-may/news/91527/fury-brexit-ministers-urge">as various ministers have suggested</a>. These concerns are acute given <a href="http://www.resolutionfoundation.org/app/uploads/2016/10/Low-Pay-Britain-2016.pdf">recent trends</a> of widening income inequality, sluggish wage growth and an increase in the low-paid workforce.</p>
<p>To ensure that Britain does not fall into a competitive race to the bottom, it must put in place a robust way of enforcing decent labour standards. In a recent analysis published in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-923X.12507">The Political Quarterly</a> journal, we outline various ways to achieve this. </p>
<h2>1. Trade unions</h2>
<p>Legal changes to restore sector-wide collective bargaining between trade unions and employers <a href="https://labour.org.uk/manifesto/fair-deal-work/#second">have been proposed</a> as one possible solution. While the majority of the British workforce once relied upon collective bargaining for pay increases, there are various reasons to question whether this proposal alone would be sufficient. </p>
<p>Not only <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/trade-union-statistics-2016">has union membership collapsed</a>, particularly in the private sector, but so too has membership of employer organisations whose involvement is necessary to sustain collective bargaining.</p>
<p>There is a strong case to restore trade union rights stripped away by successive Conservative governments. For instance, heavy restrictions on the right to strike have contributed to <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=mqJkJ4k8nrAC&lpg=PP1&dq=evolution%2520of%2520the%2520modern%2520workplace%2520CUP&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false">a rise in covert individual forms of workplace conflict</a> like disengagement, absenteeism and turnover. </p>
<p>But the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cac-annual-reports">negligible effect</a> of legislation introduced by the Tony Blair government, which forced employers to recognise trade unions if a majority of workers in a workplace supported this, indicates that the impact of such changes is likely to be minimal. More creative solutions are also needed.</p>
<h2>2. Wage laws</h2>
<p>There is scope for more creativity when it comes to the way wages are set and monitored. Instead of a single national minimum wage, for example, this could be expanded to include higher rates for specific sectors.</p>
<p>The International Labour Organization has found “inclusive” wage-setting systems, which set minimum standards for all workers in a particular industry, to be effective for <a href="http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_537846.pdf">reducing income inequality while sustaining economic growth</a>. These are especially important for protecting the pay and conditions of workers who are especially susceptible to mistreatment or being paid below their worth. Often these are women, migrants, younger workers and those in low-skilled occupations.</p>
<p>Government intervention is also needed to protect employers who maintain good employment practices from being undercut by employers who seek competitive advantage through poor employment standards. As Winston Churchill <a href="http://www.self.gutenberg.org/articles/eng/Trade_Boards_Act_1909">famously remarked</a>, in the absence of such oversight: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The good employer is undercut by the bad and the bad by the worst … Where these conditions prevail you have not a condition of progress, but a condition of progressive degeneration.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>3. Tax measures</h2>
<p>Tax measures could be used to protect responsible employers. For example, a higher employer’s National Insurance tax contribution could be introduced for fixed-term, zero-hours, agency-provided, or otherwise insecure jobs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219722/original/file-20180521-14957-1x8qa4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219722/original/file-20180521-14957-1x8qa4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219722/original/file-20180521-14957-1x8qa4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219722/original/file-20180521-14957-1x8qa4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219722/original/file-20180521-14957-1x8qa4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219722/original/file-20180521-14957-1x8qa4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219722/original/file-20180521-14957-1x8qa4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gig economy platforms like Deliveroo could pay higher National Insurance contributions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Graphical_Bank / Shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Extending this kind of provision to the growing number of companies which rely on individual “contractors” on gig economy platforms like Uber and Deliveroo, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627671/good-work-taylor-review-modern-working-practices-rg.pdf">who lack the rights and protections of employees</a>, would also help to address problems of low pay and insecure work.</p>
<h2>4. A stronger watchdog</h2>
<p>Britain has never had a comprehensive labour watchdog. It could introduce one that would eradicate company non-compliance with minimum standards of treatment. The same body could enforce the decisions of the employment tribunals that are in place to hear claims from people who think their employer has treated them <a href="https://www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals/employment-tribunal">unlawfully</a>. </p>
<p>The government’s recent creation of a Director of Labour Market Enforcement, which recently issued its first annual <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/labour-market-enforcement-strategy-2018-to-2019">strategy report</a>, is a welcome sign. David Metcalf’s role is to oversee a government crackdown on exploitation in the workplace. Yet lack of resources for government inspectorates remains a major challenge in achieving this. </p>
<p>The UK could learn from the US, which has introduced a <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0022185618765551">“strategic enforcement” initiative</a> to help underfunded enforcement agencies make better use of limited resources. It involves targeting major retailers and brands and making them accountable for the standards of suppliers and labour contractors in their supply chains, rather than targeting small non-compliant businesses directly.</p>
<h2>5. Consumer campaigning</h2>
<p>The emerging power of consumer campaigns, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/irj.12190">aided by social media</a>, can be mobilised more effectively to improve labour standards. The influence of these campaigns is generally limited to consumer-facing large firms that are averse to reputational damage. </p>
<p>But there is substantial scope for increasing consumer power with new legal obligations to ensure firms exercise due diligence over their supply chains so that labour standards here are also subject to inspection. This is evident in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/irj.12000">strategies used to improve working conditions</a> in the meat processing and construction industries in Britain, as well as <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0019793918771360">internationally</a> to protect workers in developing countries who manufacture the goods marketed by multinational clothing and electronics brands.</p>
<p>No good will come from the vision of a hard Brexit where Britain competes internationally through degrading labour standards. But there is a very different vision which could be nurtured. It would draw on the fact that the newly energised part of the electorate are young workers who are currently most vulnerable to bad employment practice. They may not join trade unions, but they will support political action to strengthen labour standards.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95540/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Brown is a member of the Labour Party and the Fabian Society.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris F. Wright currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council. In the past he has received funding from the Australian, UK and Dutch governments, the International Labour Organization, various industry bodies and trade union organisations, including the Trades Union Congress.</span></em></p>Brexit could erode workers’ wages and conditions, particularly if the British government deregulates employment laws and undercuts EU standards.William Brown, Emeritus Professor of Industrial Relations, University of CambridgeChris F. Wright, Senior Lecturer, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/952922018-04-26T22:16:01Z2018-04-26T22:16:01ZThe issues facing Canadian workers this May Day<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216127/original/file-20180424-57604-s5aaju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Organized labour held demonstrations in front of Tim Hortons franchises in Ontario in January 2018 to protest the actions some Tim Hortons franchises have taken in response to an increase in the province's minimum wage.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>May Day is upon us. What are the issues that have defined labour politics in the past year in Canada? </p>
<p>Minimum wage was certainly front and centre in many parts of the country.</p>
<p>But if May Day is a time to reflect on the radical labour struggles of the past and demands for the future, the minimum wage is not and should not be enough — not least because it cannot address the contradictions of Canadian capitalism. </p>
<h2>The politics of minimum wage</h2>
<p>The governments of British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario have raised or committed to raising the minimum wage for most workers to $15 an hour by 2018 (Ontario and Alberta) and 2021 (B.C.). </p>
<p>This has resulted in a predictable backlash. <a href="http://pressprogress.ca/news-coverage-of-ontarios-minimum-wage-increase-was-slanted-heavily-towards-business-interests/">Analyses of media coverage</a> have noted that business sources were overwhelmingly cited in stories rather than labour sources, negative impacts on employers were over-reported relative to positive impacts for workers and research findings were misreported to create the impression of damage to the economy. </p>
<p>The fact that politicians have been willing to advocate for minimum wage increases, however, points to several important trends in the Canadian economy and their implications for working people.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/democracy-freedom-and-cheap-stuff-can-we-pay-more-for-our-coffee-90621">Democracy, freedom and cheap stuff: Can we pay more for our coffee?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>First, income and wealth inequality have increased in Canada. The top one per cent of income earners took about a <a href="http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/Details/society/income-inequality.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1.">third of all income gains in the decade from 1997 to 2007</a>. After an initial hit during the 2008 recession, this trend has again accelerated.</p>
<p>The effects on total wealth are even more striking. According to <a href="https://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-006-x/2015001/article/14194-eng.htm#a5">Statistics Canada</a>, between 1999 and 2012, the bottom fifth of total families in Canada saw a 14.5 per cent increase in net worth, compared with a 106.9 per cent increase among the top fifth. </p>
<p>At the same time, the cost of living for workers — especially housing and child care — has increased. The stagnation of wages among low- and middle-income families and rising costs, of housing in particular, has led to record levels of consumer debt. <a href="https://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-001-x/2012002/article/11636-eng.htm">Data show that residents of B.C., Alberta and Ontario held three out of four dollars of household debt</a> in Canada in 2012.</p>
<h2>Precarious employment on the rise</h2>
<p>Meanwhile, precarious employment is increasing in Canada, especially the proportion of self-employed workers and those in temporary jobs, and especially for younger workers. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216569/original/file-20180426-175069-1dm6y20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216569/original/file-20180426-175069-1dm6y20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216569/original/file-20180426-175069-1dm6y20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216569/original/file-20180426-175069-1dm6y20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216569/original/file-20180426-175069-1dm6y20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216569/original/file-20180426-175069-1dm6y20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216569/original/file-20180426-175069-1dm6y20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A part-time shift worker at a grocery store, who wished to remain anonymous, is pictured in Toronto in August 2015. The rise of precarious employment in Canada - mainly work in the services and retail sectors - has brought with it questionable employer practices that have employees stressed out and labour activists fuming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Research from a <a href="https://pepso.ca/">Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario (PEPSO)</a> project, which demonstrated the limitations of existing studies like Statistics Canada’s <a href="https://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/survey/household/3701">Labour Force Survey</a>, show high levels of precarious work in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), with a range of negative impacts on workers, households and communities.</p>
<p>At a time of record low unemployment, then, the issues of income and wealth inequality, rising debt linked to housing and living costs and increasingly insecure employment have helped fuel minimum wage increases. These issues are highlighted by sustained, creative grassroots campaigning and community-union alliances like the <a href="https://www.fightfor15bc.ca">Fight for 15</a> movement. </p>
<p>There is also increasing media and political attention on these issues, despite some glaring failures to connect the dots. </p>
<p>The uncritical narrative of NAFTA, for example, <a href="https://www.hilltimes.com/2017/10/18/nafta-2-0-now-britain-boon-canada/122470">as a boon to all Canadians</a>, conceals the loss of Canadian manufacturing jobs and the decline in manufacturing wages as a direct result of trade policy (not an inevitable outcome of the natural forces of globalization). </p>
<h2>A racialized labour market</h2>
<p>Trade policy is only one area in which the contradictions underlying our economy are obvious. Another is Canada’s continued reliance <a href="http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/farmers-dismayed-as-government-begins-unannounced-temporary-foreign-worker-audits">on temporary foreign workers (TFWs).</a> </p>
<p>In my own research, I’ve addressed the continuum between precarious employment and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2016.01.008">unfree labour relations</a> in the Canadian economy. Temporary foreign workers hold work permits that are tied to an employer, which means they aren’t free to switch jobs if they are exploited. Many fear being deported if they report abuse or if they try to organize. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216568/original/file-20180426-175041-30wauv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216568/original/file-20180426-175041-30wauv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216568/original/file-20180426-175041-30wauv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216568/original/file-20180426-175041-30wauv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216568/original/file-20180426-175041-30wauv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216568/original/file-20180426-175041-30wauv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216568/original/file-20180426-175041-30wauv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Canadian flag flaps in the wind behind migrant worker Henry Aguirre of Guatemala during a demonstration in Montreal in July 2017. Activists and migrant workers say Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker program doesn’t adequately protect the rights of vulnerable workers despite the laws in place.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s not only sectors like agriculture that are reliant on migrants who have no route to settlement in Canada. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program <a href="http://www.policynote.ca/temporary-foreign-worker-program-changes-who-do-they-help/">expanded fastest in sectors like accommodation services</a> and food services in the late 2000s. Temporary migration leaves these workers vulnerable by controlling the conditions of their work, and sets a dangerous precedent for all workers.</p>
<p>The second, related point is that labour market disadvantages in Canada are racialized. <a href="http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11f0019m/11f0019m2017397-eng.htm.">Data from the 2016 census</a> highlighted that immigrants, in particular immigrant women, are more likely to be low-income than Canadian-born workers. The PEPSO study found that racialized workers are also more likely to be in precarious employment. </p>
<p>The impacts, which include <a href="https://justlabour.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/justlabour/article/view/8">what’s known as <em>de-skilling</em> as well as poverty</a>, are felt by communities, not just households and individuals. De-skilling occurs when workers become trapped in jobs that don’t fully utilize their qualifications and experience — for example, when qualified Filipino nurses come to Canada to work as nannies and are unable to move back into nursing in this country.</p>
<p>For Black and Indigenous communities, meantime, labour market disadvantages shape and are compounded by disproportionately high rates of incarceration and the <a href="http://www.cwp-csp.ca/2017/01/criminalizing-poverty-a-national-trend/">criminalization of poverty</a>.</p>
<h2>Harder to unionize</h2>
<p>For unions and labour organizers, the changing economy creates additional challenges as class-based solidarities fray and the full weight of huge shifts in the composition of the labour market are felt.</p>
<p>As the labour movement well knows, unionism is now an uncomfortable fit for workers more likely to be employed in a branch of Tim Hortons than a branch plant.</p>
<p>Finally, and most fundamentally, Canada is far from grappling with the core contradictions of its model of economic growth. </p>
<p>Our economic policy continues to be based on what’s known as <em>extractivism</em> — the large-scale extraction of natural resources for the export of raw materials — which is at odds with the realities of climate change. And the wealth of the settler state, premised on that extractivism, derives directly from the expropriation and dispossession of First Nations and Indigenous peoples and their lands. </p>
<p>Here we see the shape of struggles to come — in the nascent alliances and tensions between the labour movement and those on the front lines of the struggle for climate justice. </p>
<p>This is about far more than a bigger slice of the economic pie, as important as better wages are. </p>
<p>It is about the definition and the goals of labour politics, and who counts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95292/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kendra Strauss receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). She is also on the Research Advisory Council of the BC office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.</span></em></p>May Day is a time to reflect on labour struggles of the past and demands for the future, and Canada’s move toward increasing the minimum wage is not enough. Labour politics is about who countsKendra Strauss, Director and Associate Professor, The Labour Studies Program, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/826892017-09-26T10:30:00Z2017-09-26T10:30:00ZDrivers’ stories reveal how exploitation occurs in Gojek, Grab and Uber<p>Uber, Gojek and Grab have flooded the urban transportation market, branding themselves as middlemen between drivers and customers. Drivers are said to be <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36330006">“partners” or “micro-entrepreneurs”</a> who can decide how much money they want to make, any time they want. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.isrsf.org/files/download/442">My recent study</a>, however, reveals that such an image is at best misleading, at worst deceptive. I spent six months (November 2016-April 2017) analysing hundreds of testimonials from Indonesian drivers’ online forums on Facebook and Google+ with more than 80,000 members. In addition, I talked to ten drivers based in Jakarta, Semarang, Yogyakarta and Makassar in mid-2017.</p>
<p>I found that, rather than entering a partnership, drivers are entering an exploitative relationship in which they are treated as sweated labour with little to no working protection. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Baca juga:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/boom-in-indonesias-ride-hailing-services-leaves-drivers-in-uncertain-employment-75001">Boom in Indonesia's ride-hailing services leaves drivers in uncertain employment</a>
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<p>Using technology and rhetoric, ride-hailing companies manage to dictate to drivers while simultaneously creating the illusion of equal relations. Such a system has created discrepancies in access and power, which allow the company to intensify drivers’ labour while eliminating their rights as workers and shifting costs to them. </p>
<h2>Automated control</h2>
<p>It is true that drivers may decide to shut down the app at will. But the devil’s in the detail. Once logged in, the app heavily controls drivers – where they go, what order they take. Choice at work comes down to a matter of seconds; drivers have only about 10 seconds to choose “accept” or “reject” when an order is assigned to them.</p>
<p>Gojek, Grab and Uber impose a minimum daily acceptance rate to make drivers keep searching for orders. This decides whether drivers receive a daily bonus. As the actual rate for drivers (Rp1,000-2,000 or US$0.07-$0.14 per kilometre for motorcycle taxis) is not enough to be a living wage, most drivers now depend on this daily bonus. </p>
<p>Bonuses are given based on points. Longer distances and certain orders like food delivery are worth more points, but are also costlier as drivers must pay for petrol and parking. </p>
<p>The monetary value of points varies between companies. In Gojek, for instance, the <a href="https://driver.go-jek.com/hc/id/articles/235509348-Perhitungan-Point-dan-Bonus-Driver-GO-JEK-NON-JABODETABEK">maximum daily bonus is around Rp90,000</a> for motorbikes – and it keeps decreasing month to month. To cash in the bonus, drivers must reach a minimum 60-75% acceptance rate (the percentage of completed orders per orders assigned) and 4.5-star ratings.</p>
<p>Such a system resembles what I call “<a href="http://burawoy.berkeley.edu/Books/MC/Three.pdf">gamification of work</a>”. The firm sets earning goals that prod drivers into working longer and harder. Work is not only about giving a ride but also a math game of calculating performance. </p>
<p>Yet the rules of the game seem to be illogical. Often, their performance rating doesn’t increase even though they have completed orders. Conversely, when drivers fail to complete a task, it falls rapidly. </p>
<p>One driver that I interviewed expresses it this way: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The performance is like rupiah: increase slowly but easy to fall freely.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When drivers try to report these technical problems to the company, they get a standard reply that “it’s set by the system”. But it makes no sense to them that a machine can cheat. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It must be people who cheat us.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Bonuses as incentives work hand-in-hand with suspension as disincentives to discipline drivers. Suspension is one primary strategy to enforce drivers’ compliance. </p>
<p>Drivers cannot reject or cancel too many orders. If they do, they risk getting locked out from the app, temporarily or permanently.</p>
<p>For instance, Gojek has <a href="https://driver.go-jek.com/hc/id/articles/115000020907-Jenis-jenis-Pelanggaran-GO-JEK">a long list of rules</a> that will invoke suspension, which may lead to contract termination. </p>
<p><a href="https://metro.tempo.co/read/news/2017/02/17/064847641/gaji-ditahan-perusahaan-pengemudi-go-jek-lapor-polisi">Cases in Gojek</a> and <a href="https://www.cnnindonesia.com/teknologi/20170704120912-185-225623/ratusan-sopir-grabcar-demo-kembalikan-uang-kami/">Grab</a> show drivers cannot withdraw their money from their account when they are laid off. </p>
<h2>Illusion of “partnership”</h2>
<p>The companies disguise the practices of labour exploitation under the rhetoric of freedom, flexibility and partnership. The rhetoric relies upon the conventional idea of work — where employers own the production force and pay hourly wages. The fact that the companies only provide the app is overemphasised to maintain an impression that the <a href="https://m.tempo.co/read/news/2015/11/11/078717793/soal-kasus-go-jek-ini-pendapat-menaker-hanif-dhakiri">drivers are not employees</a>. </p>
<p>Far from being a neutral platform, the app creates a hierarchy of customers-middleman-drivers. The company is at the top of the power ladder. Meanwhile, <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/04/the-truth-about-how-ubers-app-manages-drivers">“customers act as managers”</a> as their ratings determine the drivers’ eligibility for bonuses. </p>
<p>While ratings can ensure service quality, customers’ ignorance can badly affect drivers. A friend of mine was reluctant to give five stars because she thinks perfection is only for God; while for the drivers, four is a failing grade. In case of dispute, the companies almost surely champions customers over drivers. An interviewee told me Grab suspended his friend for three days because a customer’s review had mistaken him for another driver.</p>
<p>The image of “micro-entrepreneur” compels drivers to use their own production force (vehicles) and cover their own costs for petrol, parking, maintenance, vehicle insurance and communication. </p>
<p>The more they work, the higher the expense and the greater the risks. </p>
<p>At the end, the company wields the upper hand in determining labour terms. After cutting drivers’ subsidy, the current manoeuvre is to regularly decrease the amount of bonus as well as increase the required performance. Labor terms are frequently changed to suit the company’s interests while mechanisms of negotiation are largely absent. </p>
<p>Drivers have tried to organise collective bargaining via protests. But, as of 2017, <a href="https://driver.go-jek.com/hc/id/articles/115000020907-Jenis-jenis-Pelanggaran-GO-JEK">the companies officially suspend drivers</a> who initiate, co-ordinate and join any form of demonstrations.</p>
<h2>Legal void</h2>
<p>Evidence in my research resonates with <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2686227">previous research</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/02/technology/uber-drivers-psychological-tricks.html?_r=0">investigations</a> into Uber’s labour terms in the US, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/09/uber-drivers-report-sweated-labour-minimum-wage">the UK</a> and <a href="https://thewire.in/110022/factory-workers-uber-drivers-nature-exploitation-changed/">India</a>. Uber drivers have fought various legal battles in American and European courts to strive for their workers’ rights. </p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://theconversation.com/ubers-100-million-settlement-with-drivers-settles-very-little-heres-why-58336">Uber’s $100 million settlement with drivers settles very little – here’s why</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>In Indonesia, the middleman companies are under almost no legal constraints in exploiting workers. A new ministerial decree on ride-hailing services covers only technical aspects, such as price caps and vehicle requirements in online taxis. However, the Supreme Court recently annulled this regulation.</p>
<p>Existing labour law exposes ride-hailing drivers to a legal loophole. Current regulation of minimum wage and working hours has not addressed rights and entitlements that reflect the quasi-informal type of work in the ride-hailing industry. </p>
<p>The global patterns of exploitation highlight the importance of having regulations that keep up with new ways of working in the digital age. It is time we moved the debate forward to focus on drivers’ labour rights.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82689/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aulia Nastiti receives funding from ISRSF (<a href="http://www.isrsf.org">www.isrsf.org</a>) as an Arryman fellow to conduct this research. She affiliates with the Arryman program at the EDGS, Buffett Institute, Northwestern University (<a href="http://www.edgs.northwestern.edu">www.edgs.northwestern.edu</a>). </span></em></p>Using technology and rhetoric, ride-hailing companies manage to dictate drivers while simultaneously creating the illusion of equal relation.Aulia Nastiti, Ph.D Student in Political Sciene, Northwestern UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/711172017-01-19T15:43:43Z2017-01-19T15:43:43ZWhy South Africa should redefine disability to include infertility<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152990/original/image-20170117-23075-1um8fzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Infertility, the inability to conceive or sustain a successful pregnancy, affects more than 48 million couples in the <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001356">world</a>. Of these, ten million live in Sub-Saharan Africa. </p>
<p>The prevalence of infertility is much higher in developing countries than in the developed world. This is due to a number of factors, including poor access to assisted reproductive techniques and proper health care. </p>
<p>In South Africa, infertility occurs in 15% to 20% of the population. That’s one in every six couples. Most turn to surrogacy or adoption to become parents. But, under the country’s labour law, they <a href="https://theconversation.com/leave-for-surrogate-parents-in-south-africa-no-time-for-baby-steps-60071">don’t have the same rights</a> as conventional parents to take time off from work to care for their children.</p>
<p>This disparity constitutes unfair treatment. Unfortunately, the aggrieved parties do not have any recourse under the law to claim unfair, differential treatment. This is because infertility is not listed as a ground on which a claim of unfair discrimination may be lodged under the Employment Equity <a href="http://www.labour.gov.za/DOL/legislation/acts/employment-equity/employment-equity-act">Act</a>. </p>
<p>To address the anomaly and provide better protection for infertile employees, the most suitable option would be to consider infertility as a form of disability. But, to be considered as grounds to claim discrimination on the basis of disability, infertility would need to fall under the legal definition of disability. This is not the case in South Africa.</p>
<p>Also, the country does not have any independent disability legislation. It does have a code of good practice covering people with disabilities. But this is merely a guideline for employers and does not have the authority of law. </p>
<p>The Employment Equity Act – and the disability code – provide a restricted view of who is considered to have a disability. It simply states that to be classified as disabled, the physical impairment must substantially limit an employee’s prospects of entry to and advancement in employment. This narrow view excludes infertility from the definition.</p>
<p>This is at odds with the definition of disability provided for by the World Health Organisation (WHO), of which South Africa is a member. The WHO expressly <a href="http://www.who.int/classifications/icf/en/">classifies</a> infertility as a disability.</p>
<p>The US, for example, provides for disability in line with the WHO’s definition. The <a href="https://www.ada.gov/2010_regs.htm">Americans with Disabilities Act</a> describes disability as a physical impairment which affects various body systems, including the reproductive system. This covers infertility.</p>
<p>Zimbabwe, too, follows a more inclusive approach to what constitutes a disability. <a href="http://www.parlzim.gov.zw/acts-list/disabled-persons-act-17-01">Zimbabwe’s Disabled Persons Act</a> does not require the impairment to be substantially limiting. Rather, it provides that a person is considered to be disabled when a physical disability gives rise to physical, cultural and social barriers. This ultimately covers infertility.</p>
<h2>Infertility as a disability</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution-republic-south-africa-1996">South Africa’s Constitution</a> provides that courts, forums and tribunals must consider international law when interpreting the <a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-2-bill-rights#39">Bill of Rights</a>.</p>
<p>Given the absence of a clear definition of disability and the limited view of who should be regarded as having a disability, it would be of immense value to consider what the WHO and the International Labour Organisation say on the subject. </p>
<p>This would create a path out of the current narrow approach to a more inclusive one. Including different types of impairments, such as infertility, under the umbrella of disability would protect people’s rights at work.</p>
<p>If infertility was to be considered a disability under South African labour law, it would require employers to reasonably accommodate infertile employees. This would include the duty to provide appropriate leave for the unique circumstances of surrogacy and adoption. </p>
<p>Failure to provide appropriate leave to these parents to care for their child would then be a breach of the employer’s duty. It would thus constitute indirect unfair discrimination on the basis of disability. Employees who have infertility would finally get recourse under the law to lodge a claim of unfair discrimination should they be treated differently in the awarding of parental leave due to their unique circumstances.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71117/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>South Africa lacks a clear definition of disability – and its limited view of who should be regarded as having a disability in the labour market is at odds with international practice.Anri Botes, Senior Lecturer in Labour Law, North-West UniversityLaetitia Fourie, Lecturer in Mercantile Law, University of the Free StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/489632015-10-12T20:11:30Z2015-10-12T20:11:30ZPatching the flaws around ChAFTA’s labour provisions<p>Provisions in the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) allowing temporary labour from China to be employed in Australia have become a political lightning rod. While business supports the provisions, unions claim Australian workers will be locked out of jobs in infrastructure projects, and have been pushing for Labor and the independent senators to vote down the legislation in the Senate. </p>
<p>The temporary labour provisions contain commitments that Australia should not have made as they give rise to a potential loss of jobs for Australian workers and allow a loophole which could be used to relax the job skills required of the Chinese workers.</p>
<p>The Senate has a straightforward choice: approve the legislation as it is, or not. But the Australian government also has powers it could use to address the problem.</p>
<h2>Where the problems lie</h2>
<p>The provisions affecting the inflow of Chinese workers into Australian labour markets are in two main locations of ChAFTA.</p>
<p>Chapter 10 lays down the general rules and Annex 10-A contains the Australian “specific commitments” relating to four categories of Chinese labour - business visitors, intra-corporate transferees, independent executives of China and contractual service suppliers. </p>
<p>These categories have become standard in the FTAs signed by Australia and other countries in recent years. (Annex III contains the specific commitments made by China to allow the import of temporary Australian labour into China. The Contractual Service Supplier category covers many more specific sectors - most of the professions in fact - than the Australian commitment.)</p>
<p>Most contentious is the Memorandum of Understanding on an Investment Facilitation Arrangement, which was negotiated in parallel to the ChAFTA.</p>
<p>This MOU relates to the movement of “skilled labour” and defines the skill levels of occupations as well as the eligibility of Chinese companies to import labour for infrastructure projects worth A$150 million or more. </p>
<p>It covers English language proficiency and qualifications and experience of the Chinese workers, and the minimum income the company will be required to pay them. </p>
<p>In this MOU, the project company may request “concessions”, such as those granted to Chinese workers under the existing 457 visa category. </p>
<p>But there is no general requirement for labour market testing for a company project, as there is for other 457 visa applicants. Labour market testing may be required in individual projects, though the extent of this possibility is not stated. There is no limit on the number of Chinese workers who may be employed. </p>
<p>Had a limit been imposed on the number or proportion of Chinese workers on a project, most of the possibilities of Australian job losses would have been contained. (I note that an aggregate limit of 1800 workers is imposed on contractual service suppliers from China in Chapter 10 and a limit of 5,000 on Chinese Work and Holidaymakers under a second parallel MOU.) </p>
<p>The possibility of further “concessions” is a loophole that could be used to relax the job skills required of Chinese workers and to expand the list of occupations, which already cover a large part of the total skilled workforce on many infrastructure projects, especially in the mining sector. There are no transparency requirements for an Infrastructure Facilitation Agreement.</p>
<p>All of these provisions covering temporary labour discriminate in favour of the Chinese as they are not available to non-Chinese infrastructure investors under other trade agreements which Australia has signed.</p>
<h2>The Senate should approve the legislation without amendment</h2>
<p>The Chinese Government will not agree to the renegotiation of the provisions. This leaves the Senate with a straightforward choice – to approve the legislation as it is, or not.</p>
<p>The Senate should certainly approve the Agreement. First, failure to enact the Agreement would lead to the loss of the gains from improved market access for Australian exporters which are also a part of the Free Trade Agreement. </p>
<p>The Coalition government rightly claims that these gains are substantial. They apply to a variety of producers in the agricultural, mining and service industries. Second, failure to ratify the Agreement would severely damage the Australian Government reputation and its ability to negotiate treaties in the future.</p>
<h2>The government has powers it can use</h2>
<p>There are still measures which the Australian government could adopt to limit the problems concerning unions and Labor.</p>
<p>For instance, labour market tests should be conducted where this is possible. The “concessions” are at the discretion of the Australian Government. They should be granted, if at all, only under very stringent conditions that make sure that skilled Australian labour has every opportunity to fill the jobs on infrastructure projects. </p>
<p>The Department of Immigration and Border Protection should be given the resources necessary to monitor and enforce the commitments of all the Chinese companies involved in the infrastructure projects - any legislative requirement is only as good as its enforcement. </p>
<p>Key features of each infrastructure arrangement should be made available promptly to the Australian public; these include the aggregate number of Chinese workers in each occupation, their skills and remuneration and the labour market tests that were conducted.</p>
<p>Only if these measures are taken can the Australian public be sure that the provisions which allow the importing of skilled Chinese workers operate in the interest of our nation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48963/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Lloyd does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Australian government has powers it could use to patch the problems around temporary labour provisions in the China-Australia trade agreement.Peter Lloyd, Professor of Economics, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/469022015-09-18T04:35:00Z2015-09-18T04:35:00ZHow a wage subsidy can alleviate South Africa’s youth unemployment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93771/original/image-20150903-8808-1pbmzl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Unemployed South Africans wait for work outside a factory gate in downtown Johannesburg. A wage subsidy could help reduce the numbers by offering opportunities to school leavers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past 20 years, <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0211/P02111stQuarter2015.pdf">South Africa’s unemployment</a> has doubled. Youth unemployment in particular has skyrocketed. The hardest hit are school leavers. </p>
<p>There are multiple reasons behind the broad rise in unemployment. One likely explanation for the high unemployment rate in individuals in their 20s has to do with the quality of post-apartheid secondary education. </p>
<p>In a well-functioning labour market, schooling provides important information with which employers can sort potential workers. In South Africa, it’s not just that the quality of schooling is poor, but there is also tremendous variance in this quality across schools. </p>
<p>Simply holding a matric, the qualifying year of high school, does not convey sufficient information to employers. Uncertain worker quality by itself need not be a huge problem if firms can hire and keep workers are good while dismissing those that are not. In South Africa, though, regulations to protect worker job security make dismissing workers potentially difficult and costly. </p>
<h2>The cost of unemployment</h2>
<p>From a macroeconomic viewpoint, unemployed workers represent potential but unrealised output. From a microeconomic viewpoint, unemployed workers leave households with fewer resources and hence more vulnerable. </p>
<p>Workers in their 20s typically begin to accrue the on-the-job human capital that they will use during ensuing decades. Missing this opportunity may convey costs that remain for decades. </p>
<p>Finally, the very high unemployment rate for young South African adults contributes to the social ills that accompany a loss of hope. These include crime, disengagement with the political process, and a lack of investment in one’s future well-being.</p>
<p>Pragmatic policy proposals, then, must work on those margins where change is most feasible and accept constraints that are unlikely to yield in the near term. Better schools, for example, are a fine proposal. </p>
<p>But reforming the education sector is not likely to happen quickly enough to really impact youth unemployment in the short-term. Similarly, a broad overhaul of labour laws is not likely to happen any time soon.</p>
<h2>Wage subsidy may be the best solution</h2>
<p>A policy which is doable is a targeted wage subsidy to facilitate the school-to-work transition. A critical component of the targeted wage subsidy is a probationary period during which subsidies workers may be dismissed at will.</p>
<p>Such a policy is already being <a href="http://www.treasury.gov.za/comm_media/press/2013/20131219%20-%20Employment%20Tax%20Incentive%20FAQs.pdf">piloted</a> by the country’s National Treasury. </p>
<p>A tax on formal sector wages is the norm in many developing countries. This fiscal policy discourages employment in the formal sector and, on the margin, encourages investment in capital instead of labour. </p>
<p>By lowering the cost of labour employed in the formal sector, a wage subsidy increases the demand for labour in the formal sector, increases employment in the formal sector, favours labour over capital, and costs the Treasury. A targeted wage subsidy does this for only a subset of workers, thereby increasing the relative attractiveness of hiring the targeted group relative to those who are not targeted. </p>
<p>The data overwhelmingly suggest that there is something that is preventing young school leavers from entering the labour market, but that once employed, they tend to stay employed albeit not necessarily in the same job. This might be because firms are unwilling to incur the costs of training workers if the workers will then be hired away. </p>
<p>A wage subsidy, while not first best, addresses this issue. The subsidy also addresses the externalities associated with high youth unemployment such as crime, as well as the market imperfection that arises due to negotiated wages. </p>
<p>When dismissal is difficult, it is risky to take on a new worker if that worker’s quality is unknown before hiring. When dismissal is easy, firms can offer a job at a wage that, in expectation, is appropriate to the worker’s expected productivity and then dismiss those that are sub-par while retaining and adjusting upwards the wage of those that are acceptable. When dismissal is difficult, this sort of “experimentation” on the part of the firm is curtailed.</p>
<p>Dismissal costs in South Africa are also perceived to be high. There are compelling historical reasons for many of the rules governing dismissal. </p>
<h2>How concerns can be addressed</h2>
<p>There are several caveats associated with a targeted wage subsidy for youth. First, the free dismissal provision is subject to abuse. This concern is alleviated because it is lousy business to fire good workers, because any training costs would need to be re-incurred, and because even if this happens, the worker still picks up some potentially valuable experience. </p>
<p>Second, the targeted wage subsidy favours young workers so there is the possibility that firms might just substitute the subsidised workers for the existing non-subsidised workers. But the same dismissal rules that make it hard to dismiss workers alleviate this concern. </p>
<p>It is also possible that the subsidy might stigmatise subsidised workers, but if it is nationally implemented, this seems unlikely. </p>
<p>Finally, the policy might be subject to potential fraud. This is a real concern but careful programme design can minimise the problem.</p>
<h2>Crafting the best wage subsidy</h2>
<p>A well-crafted wage subsidy might be implemented as follows. Every South African would become eligible for the wage subsidy upon turning 18 years old. The subsidy would be for a fixed amount of money and would not expire. Each youth would be given an individual subsidy account with a given balance in it. </p>
<p>When the youth took a job for a registered firm, a fraction of the individual’s wage would be drawn from the individual’s account. For a youth earning the average minimum wage, the subsidy might comprise up to half of the wage. </p>
<p>The subsidy would be completely portable. If the individual left a job or was dismissed, the remaining subsidy balance could be used with another employer. The subsidy would not expire so as to lessen the incentive to leave school early. </p>
<p>Finally, employment with the subsidy would allow for a probationary period during which a “no-questions-asked” dismissal policy would be in effect. The period should be long enough for the firm to ascertain whether the worker is a good fit.</p>
<p>Over the longer run, it is important not to lose sight of the underlying issues around school quality and labour market regulations. In the near term, a targeted wage subsidy for recent school-leavers coupled with a probationary period allowing free dismissal is a step in the right direction.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is an extract from The Oxford Companion to the Economics of South Africa, edited by Haroon Bhorat, Alan Hirsch, Ravi Kanbur and Mthuli Ncube, and published by Oxford University Press.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46902/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Levinsohn receives funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. </span></em></p>South Africa’s unemployment figures have been stubbornly high over the past two decades. One policy measure that could help alleviate the pressure is a youth wage subsidy.James Levinsohn, Director of the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Charles W. Goodyear Professor in Global Affairs & Professor of Economics and Management, Yale UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.