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Mail & Guardian

Labour Rights

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The aftermath: Widows and female dependants faced the immediate shock of the Marikana massacre, wrestling with bureaucratic hurdles for compensation while managing unpaid care work amid profound poverty. Photos: Paul Botes/File
MARIKANA

When freedom failed the mineworkers

Fourteen years after the tragedy at Lonmin’s platinum mine in Marikana, the 16 August 2012 massacre remains a significant event in South Africa’s democratic history. The state’s…

  • Sinazo Kunene
  • Lubabalo Cengani
8 min read
Cheap labour: March and March is not only about undocumented immigrants. It is about a state and an economy that allowed this to become normal and workers to be exploited. Photo: March and March/Facebook
SOUTH AFRICA

Citizens’ two faces: humanity in public; greed in private

Many South Africans have witnessed a hidden exploitation: undocumented immigrants trapped in a cycle of 'volunteer slavery'. This article exposes the two-faced attitude of greed…

  • Sandile Memela
9 min read
Images courtesy of Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images/Images of Empowerment.
DOMESTIC WORKERS

Domestic workers deserve some dignity and respect

The Dignity in Every Home campaign, backed by key organisations like Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance and SERI, aims to transform domestic work environments in South Africa. It…

  • Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI), the United Domestic Workers of South Africa (UDWOSA) and the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU)
7 min read
Survival at a cost: Gcina Dhladhla had reportedly told her supervisor she wasn’t feeling well before she later collapsed. Photo: Facebook
WORKPLACE SAFETY

The case of a toxic workplace

The violent death of Gcina Dhladhla at her Rosebank workplace is not an isolated incident but a stark revelation of systemic violence and exploitation woven into the fabric of…

  • Grace Khunou
3 min read
Despite an internal investigation finding a senior manager guilty of sexual misconduct, they remain employed by the municipality and continue to receive a salary. Graphic: John McCann
ABUSE OF POWER

eThekwini official found guilty of sexual misconduct remains on municipal payroll

A senior metro manager found guilty of sexual misconduct in an internal investigation remains employed months later, raising questions about accountability, secrecy and…

  • Sandile Motha
3 min read
Disillusioned: Although the industry previously mobilised in February 2025, the current wave of protests reflects a continued failure by the government to act decisively. Photo: Supplied
ARTS AND CULTURE POLICY

A sector in freefall

As productions stall and jobs disappear, film workers say a broken incentive scheme threatens the future of one of South Africa’s most visible industries

  • Kibo Ngowi
8 min read
eThekwini municipality. Image: X
ETHEKWINI

EThekwini internal investigation implicates senior manager in sexual misconduct

The probe was conducted by the City Integrity and Investigations Unit

  • Sandile Motha
3 min read
Former finance minister, Tito Mboweni. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
ADRIAN SAVILLE

Business leaders remember Mboweni as self-starter, resolute

He leaves a legacy as a champion of labour rights, fiscal and monetary reform and prudent government spending

  • Anathi Madubela
5 min read
Formr Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni and President Cyril Ramaphosa after last year’s budget speech. (Photo by Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
ANC

‘We have lost a leader and compatriot’ – Ramaphosa on Tito Mboweni’s death

Ramaphosa extended his condolences to Mboweni’s family and friends, calling the news “a shock”

  • Mandisa Makgakga
3 min read
BUSINESS

South Africa’s gender pay gap leaves women behind

Just 3% of chief executives of JSE-listed companies are female

  • Lyse Comins
4 min read
Unions have said the trend of making workers casual and the use of brokers to source labours on a three-month contract basis was rife in the logistics sector. Photo: grindrod.com
BUSINESS

Grindrod Logistics workers strike over retrenchments

Unions say the company is keeping its workforce as casual labour to grow profits, in line with a trend in the transport sector

  • Lyse Comins
6 min read
There is very little chance of decent work without upskilling the building sector’s workforce.(Paul Botes/M&G)
BUILDING INDUSTRY PRODUCTIVITY

‘Decent work’ could create a thriving construction industry in South Africa

Here are four pillars that employers, workers and the public can play a role in upholding to ensure the sector is safer and more productive

  • Luyanda Mgqamqo
  • Danie Hattingh
4 min read
The entire sugar eco-system and stakeholders require certainty and a sustainable solution before the insolvency court sits to hear the BRP’s application for provisional liquidation of THL . (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
COMPETITION COMMISSION

Mauritius-based company set to own majority stake in Tongaat Hulett

South African competition watchdog has approved Tongaat takeover – with conditions

  • Anathi Madubela
2 min read
A member of the South African Police Service (SAPS) arrest suspects after they were found in possession of alcohol, that goes against the rules of the nation wide lockdown, in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, on March 27, 2020. – South Africa came under a nationwide lockdown on March 27, 2020, joining other African countries imposing strict curfews and shutdowns in an attempt to halt the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus across the continent. (Photo by Luca Sola / AFP) (Photo by LUCA SOLA/AFP via Getty Images)
AFRICA

The Covid-19 pandemic is not an excuse to trample on human rights

By violating basic human rights, governments risk inflicting a double tragedy on their most vulnerable populations

  • Webster Zambara
5 min read