Video clips; What does SA need? Tell us about your privilege?

What does South Africa need?

Tell us about your privilege?

Two short video clips I created during the #RhodesMustFall protests at UCT. These clips were all made to gauge and report on the level of understanding felt by students.

These clips were made for InkuluFreeHeid and appeared on their Facebook page originally.

Minimum wage implications on Job Creation and Equality: a South African review

In June of 2014, President Jacob Zuma delivered his annual State of the Nation address to parliament and the state at large. He made mention of the need to combat wage inequality and called for stakeholders to investigate a national minimum wage (South African Government, 2014a). Various organisations, with COSATU at the forefront, have since started to research the implications, and campaign for the implementation of a national minimum wage.

This article will provide a comprehensive overview of what a national minimum wage involves, how it might affect employment statistics and whether it will aid inequality and the Gini coefficient. Brazil’s minimum wage policy will be examined at length and conclusions will be drawn on whether the Brazilian example could work in the context of South Africa.

Figure 1 below illustrates the relationship between minimum wage and employment.

In Figure 1 the minimum wage requires workers be paid a higher wage than the equilibrium would dictate in a perfectly competitive market; it is important to note that this is not always the case. In many developed countries workers are paid above minimum wage to satisfy demand and supply effects. The graph, however, would be an accurate depiction of the South African example where equilibrium wages are low due to high unemployment and, thus, an overwhelming supply of labour to the market.

Does South Africa still require affirmative action policies?

South African management positions (both top and senior) remain occupied largely by a white, male populous while improvements in the employment standing of designated groups (namely woman, blacks and those with disabilities) is continuously lacking (Department of Labour, 2013: 52-53). It is the role of affirmative action policies, like the Employment Equity Act and Black Economic Empowerment, to shift these statistics to better reflect the South African reality. The evidence available paints a grim picture; despite the end of apartheid and its policies, the landscape of the workforce remains generally unchanged with a white majority in management positions and women under-represented. It will be argued that affirmative action is undoubtedly necessary, and will remain so for years to come, but the policies must be amended to better achieve the goals.

This essay aims to critically address the sensitive issue of affirmative action and its role in South Africa’s path to equality. The Department of Labour’s annual report and the findings therein will form the cornerstone of the debate in favour of affirmative action, but the opinions of various academics will be called upon to provide alternative policy solutions. Because of time and length constraints this essay will limit its analysis to national figures and will give special focus to management statistics.

Evaluating affirmative action in South Africa
The role of affirmative action in South Africa is to ensure equal opportunities for blacks, women and people with disabilities (Department of Labour, 2014). Affirmative Action is carried out in South Africa through two broad policies; the Employment Equity Act and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE). BEE is intended to supplement the Employment Equity Act and it does so by focusing solely on race objectives, while the Equity Act protects all designated groups.