Law's Dynamic Effects: The Case of South Africa

A Brief Introduction to the Project

One of the biggest challenges to poverty reduction and sustainable development in South Africa is the growing presence of the ‘working poor’, that is, workers who are in work but are paid such a low wage that they remain in poverty. A significant proportion of these workers can be found in South Africa's informal economy. Notwithstanding the extension of labour standards to informal workers, poor job quality and the reluctance of employers to formalize have resulted in chronic decent work deficits. The vulnerability of informal workers derives from a host of factors, including their inability to enforce labour rights, the absence of a collective voice, in addition to weak statutory inspection and enforcement mechanisms. Moreover, many informal workers are exposed to a higher risk of poverty, as compared to their counterparts in the formal economy, earning wages that fall below the statutory prescribed minima.

On the 1 January 2019, the South African government introduced the National Minimum Wage Act, 9 of 2018 (the NMW Act) with the aim of addressing excessive wage inequality and working poverty. Should this Act prove to be effective in meeting its aims, specifically in the informal economy, it would constitute a far-reaching component of the policy and regulatory framework advancing the decent work agenda in South Africa.

The project on ‘Law’s Dynamic Effects: The Case of South Africa’ centres on the NMW Act. It combines both doctrinal analysis and qualitative research methods to investigate the following analytical questions:

To what extent is the NMWA having dynamic effects in work settings where levels of statutory inspection and enforcement are negligible?
What strategies are being adopted by the relevant stakeholders to extend the influence of the NMWA?
Which responses, activities and strategies have proven effective in ensuring compliance with the NMWA?
Does the NMWA interact with other labour market mechanisms (such as collective bargaining) within the prevailing wage dispensation system and, if so, to what extent?
Which responses, activities and strategies have proven effective in producing positive pay equity outcomes, particularly for low-wage workers?

Linked to the above are the following broad empirical questions:

Through which processes is the NMWA being implemented in formal and informal sectors in South Africa, if at all?
How is the NMWA affecting remuneration in the domestic work and garment sectors?
How is the NMWA affecting labour relationships in these specific sectors?

The overall objective of the project is to examin Factory workers e whether the dynamic effects associated with the national minimum wage in South Africa can be enhanced and harnessed for policy objectives, specifically those aimed at realising Goal 8 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals on decent work and economic growth.

The project is conducted by Sufia Singlee, a recipient of a PhD studentship from the University of Durham's newly established Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT). The CDT is supporting more than 20 students working on a specific challenge in one or more of the areas associated with the UN Sustainable Development Goals with all PhD students coming from a DAC nation. All CDT PhD projects are interdisciplinary and collaborations with universities in DAC countries.

Sufia’s research forms part of the overarching project on Decent Work Regulation, led by Professor Deirdre McCann. She will be supervised by Professor McCann (Durham Law School, Durham University) together with Dr Siobhan McGrath (Department of Geography, Durham University).

View Sufia's profile here.

Twitter account: @sufiasinglee

Email: sufinnah.singlee@durham.ac.uk

Links to useful resources and websites:

International Labour Organisation:

https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/wages/minimum-wages/lang--en/index.htm

National Economic Development and Labour Council, South Africa:

http://nedlac.org.za/other-publications/

National Treasury, South Africa:

http://www.treasury.gov.za/publications/other/nmw%20report%20draft%20cop%20final.pdf

Department of Employment and Labour, South Africa:

National Minimum Wage Resources