tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/wage-gaps-104916/articlesWage gaps – The Conversation2023-10-11T13:42:31Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2130222023-10-11T13:42:31Z2023-10-11T13:42:31ZMale domestic workers in South Africa – study sheds light on the experiences of Malawian and Zimbabwean migrants<p>An estimated <a href="https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/The_Thinker/article/view/2672/1644">800,000 people work as domestic workers</a> in South Africa. Most are black women from marginalised backgrounds. It’s therefore not surprising that the bulk of the literature about domestic work focuses on females performing cleaning, cooking and care work. What’s missing in debates about domestic workers’ job-related experiences and relationships with their employers is the experiences of men performing domestic work, a job traditionally linked to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24713312">femininity</a>. </p>
<p>However, paid domestic work in South Africa hasn’t always been dominated by women. In the 1880s when the <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books/about/New_Babylon_New_Nineveh.html?id=DiDtAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y">mining industry</a> was being established in Johannesburg, black men, rather than women, were the preferred servants in white households. Known as <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books/about/From_Servants_to_Workers.html?id=ha_3GUYK6FwC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&hl=en&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=houseboy&f=false">houseboys</a>, they cooked, cleaned, nursed and cared for white colonial families.</p>
<p>But over the next decade the landscape of domestic work underwent significant changes. This was due to a few factors, among them:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>a scarcity of labour in the mines, which drew black men away from domestic roles to join the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/brief-history-domestic-service-south-africa">mining sector</a> </p></li>
<li><p>the increasing <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/brief-history-domestic-service-south-africa">urbanisation of black women</a> </p></li>
<li><p>racial stereotypes about black men as <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2637313">sexually aggressive or promiscuous</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>A small proportion of men still work as domestic workers, however. Some are <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---africa/---ro-abidjan/---ilo-pretoria/documents/vacancynotice/wcms_789648.pdf">migrants</a>. Due to South Africa’s relative stability and economic opportunities, there has been <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/south-africa-immigration-destination-history">an increase in migration</a> from countries like Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique since apartheid ended in 1994. The migrants come seeking education, employment and improved livelihoods. They rely on friends and family already in South Africa <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-92114-9_2">to find jobs</a>. </p>
<p>While African migrant women from poor backgrounds often find work in <a href="https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/edar2018_BP1_en.pdf">domestic service or the hospitality sectors</a>, most migrant men work as <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/2019-05/20767_mangezvo_xenophobic_2015.pdf">gardeners, painters or security guards</a>. Some Malawian and Zimbabwean male migrants work as <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/2019-05/20767_mangezvo_xenophobic_2015.pdf">waiters or domestic workers</a>, jobs that are traditionally associated with women. </p>
<h2>Exploring unfamiliar territory</h2>
<p>As a researcher of domestic work in South Africa, I noticed that few studies had focused on male migrants performing domestic work in South Africa. Consequently, such work is commonly viewed as an employment arrangement involving affluent female employers and black female domestic workers from marginalised backgrounds. The intersections of race, class and gender between employers and domestic workers often lead to <a href="https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/74795/Masterson_Domestic_2019.pdf?sequence=1">unequal power relations and economic exploitation</a> entrenched within the employment relationship. </p>
<p>In my study, I examined <a href="https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/The_Thinker/article/view/2677">the experiences of migrant male domestic workers in Johannesburg</a>, with the aim of shedding some light on their duties and working conditions. </p>
<p>A male Malawian domestic worker employed by an acquaintance referred me to other male domestic workers in Johannesburg. Interviews were conducted with six male Malawian and four male Zimbabwean domestic workers employed by affluent white employers in Johannesburg. All had been employed for more than five years. </p>
<p>Migrant men’s experiences add a new layer of complexity to the study of domestic work, where complex intersections of class, race and gender occur. </p>
<h2>Migrant male domestic workers in South Africa</h2>
<p>My study showed that domestic work offered a viable employment path for men. </p>
<p>They faced similar challenges to their <a href="https://www.academia.edu/13215366/_Help_somebody_who_help_you_The_Effect_of_the_Domestic_Labour_Relationship_on_South_African_Domestic_Workers_Ability_to_Exercise_their_Rights">female counterparts</a>. These included long working hours, a paternalistic employer-employee dynamic, and a marginalised job status.</p>
<p>The respondents said they had an array of indoor and outdoor responsibilities. Indoors, their tasks encompassed cleaning and tidying their employers’ residences. They also handled laundry and ironing, alongside duties such as grocery shopping and meal preparation.</p>
<p>Outdoors, their responsibilities extended to garden maintenance, swimming pool upkeep, pet waste disposal, cleaning outdoor grilling areas (braais), and sweeping driveways. They were also entrusted with securing the homes and taking care of pets when their employers were away. </p>
<p>The daily life of male live-in domestic workers was much the same as <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---travail/documents/publication/wcms_230837.pdf">live-in female domestic workers</a>. The working day started at 06:30, preparing breakfast for employers. Once employers had left for work, they cleaned the house, prepared lunch, did laundry and attended to the garden.</p>
<p>The long working day often ended at 20:00 after dinner was prepared for employers. Most weekends were spent on additional piece jobs, working as gardeners or painters for others.</p>
<p>While the homes of employers were opulent, male domestic workers, just like their female counterparts, lived in small rooms in the back yard, hidden away from the employers’ gaze, as other researchers have <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3514408?seq=1">also found</a>. The one-room accommodation was often equipped with basic furniture, differing little from the <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?hl=en&lr=&id=c89wfLEahEIC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=living+quarters+of+domestic+workers+apartheid&ots=oumA3GgaGq&sig=Cjco7oSLcK6vGAgKpM_kgF0HTzQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=living%20quarters&f=false">squalid living quarters of domestic workers during apartheid</a>.</p>
<p>The men said they considered their wages reasonable. They earned on average between R5,000 (US$260) and R8,000 (US$416) a month. This was much higher than <a href="https://personal.nedbank.co.za/learn/blog/domestic-workers-minimum-wage.html#:%7E:text=The%20minimum%20wage%20for%20domestic%20workers%20in%202023&text=Employing%20someone%20for%20more%20than,with%20the%20Department%20of%20Labour.">the minimum wage of R4,067</a> (US$216) for a domestic worker working eight hours a day, five days a week in South Africa. Most said they could engage in wage negotiations, which enabled them to improve their wellbeing and that of their families.</p>
<p>None of the male domestic workers in this study had written employment contracts with their employers, or were members of a trade union, such as the <a href="http://www.sadsawu.com/">South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union</a>. Work contracts need to be renewed every few years, which is costly and time consuming. Job security is precarious. </p>
<h2>The recurring issues of domestic work</h2>
<p>In South Africa, domestic work continues to be associated with <a href="https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/The_Thinker/article/view/2672/1644">marginalised black individuals</a>, perpetuating a historical and societal imbalance. </p>
<p>Paid domestic work continues to occupy a low-status position. No formal qualifications and little specialised expertise are required. Domestic workers’ contributions to the functioning of households are essential but frequently taken for granted, as other studies have <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/book/42905/">also confirmed</a>. </p>
<p>Despite the <a href="https://www.pulp.up.ac.za/edited-collections/exploited-undervalued-and-essential-domestic-workers-and-the-realisation-of-their-rights">legislation</a>, domestic workers work long hours and perform physically demanding work. While male domestic workers in this study could negotiate better working conditions and pay, others might not be successful, and might remain in a precarious working environment. </p>
<p>Job security is not assured, a vulnerability most <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---migrant/documents/publication/wcms_535598.pdf">migrant domestic workers</a> experience. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---africa/---ro-abidjan/---ilo-pretoria/documents/vacancynotice/wcms_789648.pdf">Practical protection remains constrained</a>. For instance, migrant domestic workers often encounter difficulties when seeking healthcare.</p>
<p>To safeguard this group from exploitation and elevate their overall livelihoods, regulators, enforcement agencies and trade unions must protect and recognise all domestic workers, including migrants, in South Africa.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213022/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David 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>Paid domestic work has a low status in South Africa. The labour of domestic workers is often undervalued and unrecognised.David du Toit, Sociology Lecturer, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1736612022-01-21T13:41:11Z2022-01-21T13:41:11ZAbout 1 in 3 child care workers are going hungry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438582/original/file-20211221-48250-b4755j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2991%2C2254&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The majority of child care workers are women and people of color. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/tyonna-stinnie-left-working-toward-her-certification-at-sed-news-photo/826835506?adppopup=true"> Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440109/original/file-20220110-15-rnl78a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="31.2% of child care workers in the United States experienced food insecurity in 2020." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440109/original/file-20220110-15-rnl78a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440109/original/file-20220110-15-rnl78a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440109/original/file-20220110-15-rnl78a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440109/original/file-20220110-15-rnl78a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440109/original/file-20220110-15-rnl78a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440109/original/file-20220110-15-rnl78a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440109/original/file-20220110-15-rnl78a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>Of the nearly <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/childcare-workers.htm">1 million child care workers</a> in the United States, in a recent white paper, my colleagues and I found that 31.2% – <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TUlsKYpJFkftAnuUXykfje67ThIdaPEK/view">basically 1 out of every 3 – experienced food insecurity in 2020</a>, the latest year for which we analyzed data. Food insecurity means there is a <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/84973/err-237.pdf">lack of consistent access to enough food</a>. This rate of food insecurity is anywhere from <a href="https://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/documents/reports/ipr-rapid-research-reports-pulse-hh-data-10-june-2020.pdf">8</a> to <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/102076/err-298.pdf?v=8307.1">20 percentage points</a> higher than the national average.</p>
<p>In Washington state and Texas, one study found 42% of child care workers experienced food insecurity, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05493">with 20% of child care workers</a> experiencing very high food insecurity. High food insecurity is when a person reports reduced quality and variety of diet. Very high food insecurity occurs when a person reports disrupted eating patterns and <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/definitions-of-food-security.aspx">reduced food intake</a>.</p>
<p>Another study in Arkansas found that <a href="https://ssl-dhs2.ark.org/images/uploads/newsroom/Staff_Workforce_Study_Report.pdf">40% of child care workers experienced food insecurity</a>.</p>
<h2>Effects of food insecurity</h2>
<p>People who are food insecure are at increased chances of being poor health, with conditions like hypertension, diabetes, asthma, arthritis and depression, among other chronic diseases and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0645">health conditions</a>. </p>
<p>Low wages and food insecurity may contribute to child care workers’ <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05493">high stress levels</a>. When child care workers experience stress, they tend to reduce the amount of positive attention to children and increase their punitive responses to <a href="https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-ngw9-n011">children’s challenging behavior</a>. </p>
<h2>Causes of food insecurity</h2>
<p>Overall, child care workers’ wages are low, with the median hourly wage being <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/childcare-workers.htm">$12.24 per hour</a>. This means child care workers make little more than <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/food-preparation-and-serving/food-and-beverage-serving-and-related-workers.htm">fast-food workers</a>, whose median pay is <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/food-preparation-and-serving/food-and-beverage-serving-and-related-workers.htm">$11.64 per hour</a>. What child care workers make is not considered a <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/living_wage.asp">living wage</a>.</p>
<p>As a result of low wages, <a href="https://cscce.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Early-Childhood-Workforce-Index-2018.pdf">more than 53% of child care workers received public assistance</a>, including Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from 2014 to 2016. This compares with the <a href="https://cscce.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Early-Childhood-Workforce-Index-2018.pdf">21% of elementary and middle school teachers</a> who received public assistance in that period. When so many child care workers rely on public assistance, it reveals how many of them don’t make enough money to get by.</p>
<p>Nearly all U.S. child care workers are <a href="https://cscce.berkeley.edu/racial-wage-gaps-in-early-education-employment/">women, and half are people of color</a>. This workforce is central to providing <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED585491.pdf">high-quality early childhood education</a> to children up to 5 years old. </p>
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<p>Early childhood researchers and policymakers have focused on increasing the education and training of the child care workforce to bolster quality. The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment <a href="https://cscce.berkeley.edu/workforce-index-2020/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/Early-Childhood-Workforce-Index-2020.pdf">recommends</a> that lead teachers, the primary teachers in early childhood classrooms who are responsible for day-to-day management of a classroom, at least have a bachelor’s degree and that assistant teachers at least have a child development associate certificate or equivalent. Despite the fact that the more education child care workers have the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2017.10.003">higher-quality care</a> they deliver, many states require only <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/childcare-workers.htm">a high school diploma or equivalent</a>, and some states do not have any education requirements for entry-level positions. </p>
<p>On average, child care workers who have a bachelor’s degree do <a href="https://escholarship.org/content/qt5k46c178/qt5k46c178.pdf">make more than those who don’t</a>. However, going to college <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USED/bulletins/14f4dfe">doesn’t pay off as much</a> for child care workers as it does for those in other fields. Child care workers with a bachelor’s degree average $14.70 per hour, which is <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/earlylearning/files/ece-low-compensation-undermines-quality-report-2016.pdf">just under half the average earnings overall</a> of those with a bachelor’s degree – $27 per hour.</p>
<p>It’s one thing to expect child care workers to get more education to become better at what they do. But it is also important to ensure that additional education pays off.</p>
<p>Policymakers have recently focused on child care workers’ wages. For example, the Build Back Better legislation <a href="https://www.ffyf.org/faq-on-the-child-care-and-preschool-provisions-in-the-build-back-better-act/">would raise payment rates</a> to meet the cost of care for children from birth to 5 years old. The cost of care would include wages.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173661/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Colin Page McGinnis is affiliated with South Side Early Learning, an early childhood nonprofit organization in Columbus, Ohio.</span></em></p>Child care workers are at the center of the food insecurity crisis in America. In 2020, nearly one-third of them were food insecure.Colin Page McGinnis, Doctoral Candidate, Research Assistant, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1669172021-08-31T19:46:06Z2021-08-31T19:46:06ZLet’s not forget about precarious work in this federal election — and beyond<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418554/original/file-20210831-21-1gvd302.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3600%2C2398&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Toronto actor and cabaret performer, a precarious employee, poses for a photo in April 2021 at the Elgin theatre.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The pandemic is the backdrop to the ongoing federal election, and its attendant lockdowns have shone light on health and economic issues. Not the least of these is <a href="http://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2020-049">how job insecurity and low pay are inextricably linked to a wide spectrum of jobs</a> and small businesses. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/cerb-was-luxurious-compared-to-provincial-social-assistance-158501">Unprecedented income support from the federal government</a> temporarily cushioned the unanticipated losses of earnings for these unprotected workers. But the crisis has exposed just how vulnerable a significant portion of the work force can be to sudden shifts in economic circumstances. </p>
<p>Is precarious work an emerging problem that needs to be addressed beyond the pandemic?</p>
<h2>The growth of precarious work</h2>
<p>Precarious work has already crept into popular discourse and media. American writers ranging from <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/still-nickel-and-dimed-a-decade-later">Barbara Ehrenreich</a> to <a href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/a-steady-diet-of-low-expectations-a-conversation-with-jessica-bruder-author-of-nomadland/">Jessica Bruder</a> have written about the world of low-paying and insecure work in the 21st century. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418556/original/file-20210831-15-1fylpks.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Frances McDormand in a scene from the film Nomadland." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418556/original/file-20210831-15-1fylpks.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418556/original/file-20210831-15-1fylpks.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418556/original/file-20210831-15-1fylpks.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418556/original/file-20210831-15-1fylpks.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418556/original/file-20210831-15-1fylpks.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418556/original/file-20210831-15-1fylpks.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418556/original/file-20210831-15-1fylpks.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Frances McDormand in a scene from the film ‘Nomadland.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Searchlight Pictures</span></span>
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<p>Bruder, in particular, documented a modern society of travelling workers living from vans and RVs, moving from job to job without employment security or adequate social supports. Her book, <em>Nomadland: Surviving America in the 21st Century</em>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/26/nomadland-wins-best-picture-oscar-chloe-zhao">became an award-winning movie in 2020</a>. The movie’s central characters are forced by financial challenges to eschew traditional housing and stability for a world of unstable, low-paid work that offers no real future.</p>
<p>The dramatic slowdown in economic growth in western Europe during the last quarter of the 20th century <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020859018000329">focused attention on precarious work</a> that would later spread to North America. </p>
<p>Precarious work can be defined as “<a href="https://arnekalleberg.web.unc.edu/precarious-work/">uncertain, unstable and insecure and in which employees bear the risks of work (as opposed to businesses or the government) and receive limited social benefits and statutory protections</a>.” <a href="https://economix.org/a55ets/publications/ECONOMIXanalysis-precarious-employment-Europe.pdf">Research for the European Commission</a> found that precarious employment has grown in concert with the growth in social protection measures and labour market regulations in major European countries experiencing high unemployment, like Italy and Spain. </p>
<p>Researchers found rapid employment growth among temporary workers, workers on fixed-term or temporary contracts and workers in apprenticeships and other training programs through the 1980s and early 1990s. This type of work had risen to the level of 25-30 per cent of employment in France, Germany and Italy, and 60 per cent of employment in Spain, by the end of the 20th century. </p>
<p>This European research provided reasonably strong evidence that precarious work was becoming an important component of the labour market, with implications for poverty reduction and welfare policy.</p>
<h2>Labour market segmentation</h2>
<p>While concerns about precarious work were muted by lower unemployment and more robust growth in North America, some attempted to link the concept to the older <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w1314">idea of labour market segmentation</a>. That included the notion that without public employment programs and affirmative action hiring, peripheral workers — women, Black people and other racialized employees — would be relegated to the secondary sectors, job impermanence and bouts of poverty.</p>
<p>That included the notion that peripheral workers — women, Black people and other racialized employees — would be relegated to the secondary sectors, job impermanence and bouts of poverty without public employment programs and affirmative action hiring.</p>
<p>Precarious work was also linked to findings of <a href="https://economics.mit.edu/files/16724">job polarization and declining employment in the middle of the U.S. skills spectrum</a> and <a href="https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/employment/in-it-together-why-less-inequality-benefits-all_9789264235120-en">rising inequality among economies in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, known as the OECD</a>.</p>
<p>The research documented that new sources of precarious employment had arisen via franchising, global supply chains, temporary work agencies and remote work. The consequences of these developments were familiar, however: low pay, limited benefits, job insecurity and the concentration of such work among groups like recent immigrants and minorities. </p>
<p>Employment of independent contractors, on-call workers, temporary help agency workers and workers provided by contract firms <a href="https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/employment/in-it-together-why-less-inequality-benefits-all_9789264235120-en">rose to 17.2 per cent of all employment in the United States in 2015 from 10 per cent in 1995, and comprised all of the job growth between 2005 and 2015</a>.</p>
<p>It’s hardly surprising, then, that <a href="https://inequality.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/media/_media/pdf/pathways/fall_2012/Pathways_Fall_2012%20_Kalleberg.pdf">American workers are placing more and more emphasis on job security</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A delivery worker riding a bike." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418558/original/file-20210831-23-conjul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418558/original/file-20210831-23-conjul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418558/original/file-20210831-23-conjul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418558/original/file-20210831-23-conjul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418558/original/file-20210831-23-conjul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418558/original/file-20210831-23-conjul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418558/original/file-20210831-23-conjul.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">In this March 2020 photo, a delivery worker rides his bicycle along a path on the West Side Highway in New York.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>What about Canada?</h2>
<p>Poverty, income inequality and job polarization appear to have followed a somewhat different path in Canada, due to some extent to <a href="https://on-irpp.org/2ndNUbW">strong after-tax income gains for the bottom quintile of the income distribution</a> during the first decade of the 21st century. This was associated with <a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=3077044">redistributive tax measures</a> for low-income Canadians.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, there’s evidence of comparable growth in precarious work in Canada. <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/421/HUMA/Reports/RP10553151/humarp19/humarp19-e.pdf">The House of Commons standing committee on human resources</a> found that non-traditional work — including involuntary part-time work, unincorporated self-employment and temporary work — is typically excluded from social programs and regulations like Employment Insurance, sick leave, supplementary health benefits, severance, employer pensions and labour standards. This leaves Canadian precarious workers vulnerable to accidents, illness and job loss. </p>
<p>This non-traditional employment now makes <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/type/data?text=141-00027">up a quarter of all jobs in Canada</a>, similar to figures for Europe and the U.S. </p>
<p>Another study of generally low-wage, self-employed freelancers and micro-entrepreneurs with short-term work arrangements found that precarious work <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Measuring-the-gig-economy-in-Canada-using-data-Jeon/26bc867dd82042074b2ead7845997b7eb781db0b">had grown to more than seven per cent of the Canadian labour force by 2019</a>. </p>
<p>An analysis of an <a href="https://labourstudies.mcmaster.ca/documents/southern-ontarios-basic-income-experience.pdf">online survey of participants in the cancelled Ontario Basic Income Project</a> found that precarious workers typically moved on to self-employment or non-employment, rather than permanent full-time jobs.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Laptops at a work space." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418732/original/file-20210831-27-18z2kle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418732/original/file-20210831-27-18z2kle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418732/original/file-20210831-27-18z2kle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418732/original/file-20210831-27-18z2kle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418732/original/file-20210831-27-18z2kle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418732/original/file-20210831-27-18z2kle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418732/original/file-20210831-27-18z2kle.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 workers don’t often move onto full-time jobs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Marvin Meyer/Unsplash)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/421/HUMA/Reports/RP10553151/humarp19/humarp19-e.pdf">House committee considered four policy levers</a> to address precarious employment: income support programs, federal labour standards, the federal government as a model employer and skills training. </p>
<p>Of these, only income support programs and skills training would be available to all Canadians since federal labour standards are limited to only six per cent of the work force in federally regulated industries. The federal government is a large but not sufficiently dominant employer to exert major influence on human resources decisions of the countless and diverse private and public organizations across the nation. </p>
<p>The recent <a href="https://bcbasicincomepanel.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Final_Report_BC_Basic_Income_Panel.pdf">Basic Income Expert Panel</a> in British Columbia outlines some options within provincial jurisdiction to address precarious work, emphasizing amendments to the Employment Standards Act and Labour Relations Code that would improve wages, working conditions and job protection.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/job-guarantees-basic-income-can-save-us-from-covid-19-depression-133997">Job guarantees, basic income can save us from COVID-19 depression</a>
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<p>While current federal income support programs, such as Employment Insurance, could be revised to ease eligibility conditions and improve benefits and training opportunities for low-wage workers, the House standing committee acknowledged that the very nature of precarious employment meant workers would likely still fall through the cracks. </p>
<p>The committee therefore <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/421/HUMA/Reports/RP10553151/humarp19/humarp19-e.pdf">endorsed the study of alternative forms of income support, such as a guaranteed annual income</a>, that are not tied to employment.</p>
<p>As the gig economy and precarious work become more prevalent, there will be a growing need for some form of universal income support to help these workers in ways that traditional income security programs cannot. Hopefully that’s a conversation to be had now, not during future federal election campaigns.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166917/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wayne Simpson 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>As the gig economy and precarious work become more prevalent, there’s a growing need for some form of universal income support to help these workers.Wayne Simpson, Professor, Department of Economics, and Research Fellow, University of Calgary School of Public Policy, University of ManitobaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1614332021-05-25T12:03:47Z2021-05-25T12:03:47ZForcing disclosure of wages and executive pay in South Africa is a good idea: here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402333/original/file-20210524-19-6ci1ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Workers at a textile factory in Cape Town, South Africa. Differences between wages and executive pay isn't currently in the public domain.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Plans are afoot <a href="https://www.news24.com/citypress/business/proposed-law-to-force-wage-gap-disclosure-20210523">to make amendments to South Africa’s Companies Act</a> that would require companies to report on wage differentials. This is the gap between executive pay and the lowest paid workers in the company. The announcement was made by South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry Ebrahim Patel.</p>
<p>This is a significant development. And in my view, long overdue.</p>
<p>The proposed change would go some way to address the challenge of inequality in South Africa as well as better regulate excessive executive pay. This is because transparency about wage differentials will mean companies cannot continue to ignore the inequalities in earnings in South Africa. Transparency will also enable social actors to question inequality in companies and to change it. On top of this, at least in theory, the massive inequalities between executive pay and the wages of workers would put some pressure on the highest earners to curb their excessive pay. </p>
<p>In my view, this approach to addressing the problem may be more effective than laws that stipulate maximum pay.</p>
<p>The disclosure approach would help modernise South Africa’s corporate reporting in line with<a href="https://connect.sustainalytics.com/sfs-corporate-esg-in-focus-an-overview-of-esg-and-its-impact-on-companies?utm_term=&utm_campaign=Leads-Search-20&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=4619360780&hsa_cam=11145778763&hsa_grp=108965194933&hsa_ad=514798435870&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=dsa-390170183270&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=b&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=Cj0KCQjwna2FBhDPARIsACAEc_V9D6QptzDSs7N3DqLtgFYJBhesga2lnYwRokIroS-K1smamtSujVgaAvqzEALw_wcB"> a framework designed</a> to measure performance beyond financial returns to include environmental, social and governance responsibilities of business entities. </p>
<p>South Africa is one of the most unequal societies in the world. The country’s gini-coefficient – which is used to measure levels of income inequality in a country – <a href="https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators/SI.POV.GINI/rankings">is the highest</a> in the world among countries that have data to construct the index. It is estimated to be 0.65. Even very unequal societies in Latin America, such as Brazil (0.51) and Chile (0.48) have lower levels of inequality. At the other end of the spectrum, are egalitarian countries like Sweden’s 0.29 and Denmark’s 0.28. </p>
<p>Levels of inequality are borne out by a host of other statistics too. For example, <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/media/wits-university/faculties-and-schools/commerce-law-and-management/research-entities/scis/documents/Estimating%20the%20Distribution%20of%20Household%20Wealth%20in%20South%20Africa.pdf">the top 0.01% </a> of the wealthiest South Africans – 3500 individuals – own 15% of the total wealth in the country. Whereas the top 1% of individuals each have net wealth of R17.8 million, the bottom 50% of South Africans have net wealth of -R16 000. In other words their liabilities exceed their assets.</p>
<p>The initiative announced by the minister of trade and industry Ebrahim Patel comes against a backdrop of <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/editorials/2021-05-21-editorial-law-on-wage-disclosure-is-a-step-towards-greater-equality/">increasing awareness</a> of the excessive levels of executive pay in the country. CEOs of the top companies in <a href="https://www.pwc.co.za/en/publications/executive-directors-report.html">South Africa earn</a>, on average, R24 million per year while the minimum wage for workers is just above R21 per hour – about R43 000 per year. One of the most striking statistics that demonstrates the massive wage inequality in South Africa was <a href="https://www.groundup.org.za/article/checkers-worker-would-take-291-years-earn-what-her-boss-was-paid-month/">the calculation</a> that it would take a low paid worker at Checkers – a large food retailer – 290 years to earn the equivalent of what then its then CEO Whitey Basson earned in one month.</p>
<p>This is not the basis <a href="https://www.newframe.com/category/editorial-and-analysis/">for a sustainable society</a>. This level of inequality is a structural trap that holds people back, leads to lower levels of economic growth, and sooner or later, to much higher levels of social unrest. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>The amendments being proposed are innovative. But they are by no means unusual. Companies being required to go public with this information is increasingly becoming the norm across the world. </p>
<p>The environmental, social, and corporate governance investment framework evaluates companies beyond their financials. It also measures them on environmental, social and governance performance. This approach is being used widely across the globe and more and more investment decisions are now based on this framework.</p>
<p>Within the ‘social’, companies are evaluated on the labour practices and levels of inclusion. For example, does the company pay fair wages; does it have good relationships with the communities around it; does it train workers; does it promote small business?</p>
<p>One measure is whether the gap between workers and executive pay is fair and justified.</p>
<p>A number of countries have laws in place that require companies to report on pay gaps. In California, for example, firms are required <a href="https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/paydatareporting/">to submit pay data reports</a>. In Europe and the UK, companies are required to report on the gender pay gap within their organisation. The UK legislation <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-39502872">has been effective</a> at making gender pay inequality transparent.</p>
<p>South Africa’s own corporate governance codes – the <a href="https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.iodsa.co.za/resource/collection/684B68A7-B768-465C-8214-E3A007F15A5A/IoDSA_King_IV_Report_-_WebVersion.pdf">King IV report</a> – is also in line with this framework, emphasising the fact that companies are part of a wider society where inclusivity and sustainability need greater attention.</p>
<p>There is a lot that needs to be clarified about the proposed amendments: will it apply to all companies, or just listed companies? Will it apply only to large companies, with an employment threshold, such as the <a href="http://www.labour.gov.za/DocumentCenter/Reports/Annual%20Reports/Employment%20Equity/2019%20-2020/20thCEE_Report_.pdf">employment equity reporting requirements</a>, which apply only to companies that employ more 50 workers? Will the amendments include the requirement to report on the gender pay gap, as is the case in many other jurisdictions? How is ‘executive’ defined? How does the legislation propose to deal with extensive sub-contracting arrangements that often hide low-paid work in so-called independent companies?</p>
<p>And will the minister use the opportunity to introduce tighter controls and reporting requirements on environmental considerations?</p>
<h2>First step</h2>
<p>Legislation to require reporting on issues such as wage differentials, the gender pay gap, and the impact on the environment are important for accountability and for creating the conditions for a more equitable society. But it’s important to recognise that changes to the law, on its own, won’t ensure more inclusive and equitable organisations. </p>
<p>As a society, South Africa needs to use the legislation to pressure companies to change the patterns of wage differentials. Without social action, the legislation alone will not change behaviour.</p>
<p>For example, South Africa’s Companies Act gives a lot of power to shareholders. Yet, shareholder action to hold executives accountable is not a hallmark of the country’s corporate governance milieu. Even when highly paid executives have failed to perform, shareholders have found it <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/2020-12-17-2020-the-year-shareholders-voted-against-high-executive-pay/">difficult to hold executives to account.</a>.</p>
<p>To ensure more equity and accountability, the amendments being proposed by the minister will require civil society organisations, NGOs and trade unions to use the data for social action aimed at promoting inclusivity and equity in companies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161433/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Imraan Valodia receives funding from a number of local and international organizations that support research.</span></em></p>Companies being required to go public with information about executive and workers pay packets is increasingly becoming the norm.Imraan Valodia, Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, and Head of the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.