A Synthesis of Current Issues in the Labour Regulatory Environment

The project was commissioned to the Development Policy Research Unit (headed by Prof Haroon Bhorat at the University of Cape Town) and the Sociology of Work Unit (led by Prof Eddie Webster at the University of the Witwatersrand) under the auspices of the Human Sciences Research Council (led by Andre Kraak)

Analysing Wage Formation in the South African Labour Market: The Role of Bargaining Councils

The role of bargaining councils, the central pillar of collective bargaining in South Africa, in the formation of wages is important in the context of high unemployment rates in South Africa. In this study we find that while institutionalised collective bargaining system covered substantially more formal sector workers in 2005 (30 percent) compared to 1995 (15 percent), this still meant that less than a third of the formally employed were covered by bargaining councils. Notwithstanding this, the overall rise in the number of workers covered by bargaining council agreements between 1995 and 2005 was driven almost primarily by the introduction of public sector councils. Thus, bargaining council coverage in the first decade of democracy is characterised by an erosion of coverage within the private sector bargaining council system on the one hand and the rapid rise of this system of bargaining in the public sector. On the other hand the descriptive data and multivariate models show therefore a significant wage premium associated with coverage under public sector councils in 2005, in excess of the large and significant union wage premium. The decline in the bargaining council system in the private sector is accompanied by declining wage premia for formal sector workers covered under private sector bargaining council agreements, with our preferred specification in 2005 indicating no significant private sector bargaining council wage premium.South Africa: bargaining system, bargaining councils, private sector, formal sector

Poverty, Inequality and the Nature of Economic Growth in South Africa

The post-1994 period in the South African economy is characterised, perhaps most powerfully, by the fact that the economy recorded one of its longest periods of positive economic growth in the country's history. One of the more vexing issues within the economic policy terrain in post-apartheid South Africa though, has been the impact of this consistently positive growth performance on social welfare

Institutional Wage Effects: Revisiting Union and Bargaining Council Wage Premia in South Africa

The literature on the union wage gap in South Africa is extensive, spanning a range of datasets and methodologies. There is however little consensus on the appropriate method to correct for the endogeneity of union membership or the size of the union wage gap. Furthermore, there are very few studies on the bargaining council wage premium in South Africa due to lack of data on coverage of employees under these agreements

Graduate Unemployment in the Face of Skill Shortages: A Labour Market Paradox

There is consensus among analysts that South Africa's unemployment is structural in the sense that the unemployed generally possess lower skills than what is required in the marketplace. In the context of increasing demand for skilled workers due to technical progress and the need to become more competitive globally, graduate unemployment would be expected to fall

Shifts in Non-Income Welfare in South Africa: 1993 - 2004

The aim of this study is to provide an analysis of the shifts in non-income welfare that have occurred over the period 1993 to 2004. This analysis serves as a complement to existing research which has focused on shifts in income poverty and inequality in the post-apartheid period. In addition, the study is one of only a few that provides a complete overview of the first decade of democracy by means of the comprehensive time period it covers

Estimating a poverty line: An application to free basic municipal services in South Africa

One of the key interventions aimed at improving the welfare of South African households has been local government's provision of a package of free basic services (FBS) to poor households. It is, however, not completely clear how different municipalities identify households which are eligible for FBS. Evidence suggests that many municipalities currently provide services to all households with a monthly income of less than R1500 per month

Income and Non-Income Inequality in Post-Apartheid South Africa: What are the Drivers and Possible Policy Interventions?

Analysis using data from the 1995 and 2000 Income and Expenditure Surveys has found a significant increase in income inequality over the period and, further, that this increase in inequality eroded any significant poverty-reduction gains from higher economic growth

Analysing Wage Formation in the South African Labour Markets: The Role of Bargaining Councils

The role of bargaining councils, the central pillar of collective bargaining in South Africa, in the formation of wages is important in the context of high unemployment rates in South Africa. In this study we find that while institutionalised collective bargaining system covered substantially more formal sector workers in 2005 (30 percent) compared to 1995 (15 percent), this still meant that less than a third of the formally employed were covered by bargaining councils

Women in the South African Labour Market, 1995 - 2005

This policy document was compiled based on the DPRU Working Paper 07/118, Women in the South African labour market, 1995-2005 by Carlene van der Westhuizen, Sumayya Goga and Morné Oosthuizen