Johannesburg | Tuesday
A NEW labour survey released on Tuesday found that a large majority of South Africa’s labour force believed it was the government’s responsibility to create jobs.
The Mesebetsi Labour Force Survey Report was released on Tuesday by the South African branch of Norway’s Institute for Applied Social Science (Fafo).
The study found that between 32 and 45% of South Africa’s ”working age population” 15 to 65 year-olds were unemployed.
Women, rural people and Africans were most likely to fall in this group.
A quarter of the unemployed said their last job ended with retrenchment or business closure, the survey said.
Other key findings were:
– The South African informal sector had become a major contributor to employment with about 20% of the working population relying on it for making a living.
– Most of the unemployed – 70% survived on remittances from other household members and also gifts from people outside their households. Very few had government grants and pensions or unemployment benefits.
– The poorest 50% of the population received about 10% of national income, the richest 10% took 50% of total income. ”Household income inequality may have increased since 1994,” the survey found.
– While large differences in educational achievements remained between the population groups, racial inequality had narrowed substantially since 1994. Amongst the youth (15 to 24) there were very few who have no schooling, while 20% of those aged 45 to 65 had no education.
– At the same time, matriculated Africans earned half of what their white compatriots got. The average salary of African managers was closer to that of white elementary workers than white managers. Many workers were also underemployed.
”Furthermore, most employees argue that their performance at work would be better if their work were better organised, or if they had higher pay,” the surveyors reported.
– The large majority of workers were committed to the existing bargaining and conflict-resolution systems in the labour market. Most workers were covered by a collective agreement and believed they should only go on strike after negotiations had failed.
– Income distribution remained highly skewed.
”There are major differences in household income, with whites earning by far the highest, followed by those with tertiary education and then Indians, and couples with no children,” the study found.
”At the other extreme, those households with primary education earn the lowest income, followed by those with no schooling, those with lower secondary, those living in non-urban areas and Africans. The gaps in earnings at the lower end are relatively small.”
– Annual and sick leave were the most common types of leave provision. Annual leave was mainly provided in the formal sector.
Most union members (who also happen to dominate the formal sector) reported getting paid annual leave. The three industries that provided the best paid annual leave were the public sector, mining & quarrying and finance.
”Among the worst performers are the construction and the retail sectors. The informal sector suffers from lack of all types of leave, with the agriculture and domestic sectors suffering the most. Maternity leave is most frequent in the public sector.”
– Of those who reported occupational injury and illness in the past year, only a small percentage claimed that their employers covered related medical expenses. Most of these expenses were covered by household members, and not the Workers’ Compensation Accident Fund.
”Employees in general have little knowledge of their rights concerning health and safety at work.”
– Employees who worked the longest hours were in construction, hotels and restaurants, transport, storage and communication, agriculture, fishing and forestry, and mining and quarrying.
Permanent night workers usually worked more hours compared to those who work rotating night hours, or day workers.
– Access to retirement benefits was the most common fringe benefit in both the private and public sectors. But fewer of those in the private sector reported entitlement to a retirement benefit.
Also fewer employees in the private sector benefited from subsidised medical care and housing.
– A sizeable number (about half) of the most vulnerable workers (agriculture and domestic) believed that the most important role of the Department of Labour/government was to create jobs and set wages. The majority of these workers were not satisfied with their wages.
People’s attitudes also differed substantially by race, with Africans largely in favour of government-set wages as opposed to a small percentage of whites.
– A fear of losing one’s job was more prevalent among those in agriculture, households, construction and mining.
Fafo said the survey was conducted the overall aim of shedding light on important aspects of the labour market relating to the mandate of the Department of Labour that were not normally addressed in surveys undertaken by Stats SA and others.
The fieldwork was conducted with approximately 10 000 households – 50 000 individuals — interviewed nationally and was concluded at the beginning of 2000. – Sapa