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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Wits Institutional Repository on DSPACE UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND FACULTY OF HUMANITIES SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCEINCES MASTER OF ARTS SOCIOLOGY EXPLORING THE SURVIVAL & LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES USED BY RETAIL SECTOR WORKERS IN JOHANNESBURG AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF LOW REMUNERATION. ZIVAI SUNUNGUKAYI MUKOROMBINDO STUDENT NUMBER: 386843 SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR BRIDGET KENNY A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Arts in Development Sociology. DECLARATION I declare that this research report is my own unaided work. It is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Arts in Development Sociology (by Coursework and Research Report) at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted before for any other degree or examination in any other University. Signed____________________________ on this____ day of _________________ 20___ Zivai Sunungukayi Mukorombindo i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are a number of people I am indebted to who made the completion of this research report possible. My greatest appreciation goes to my supervisor Prof. Bridget Kenny whose continuous intellectual guidance, encouraging feedback, comments, support and patience was of utmost importance in the whole process of this project. I would like to extend my gratitude to Prof. Deven Pillay, Dr. Shireen Ally and Prof. Ruksana Osman in their capacities as the Head of the Sociology Department, Sociology Post-Graduate Co-ordinator and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities respectively for pinning their faith in my academic ability and offering me funding to study towards this degree. I would also like to thank Amuzweni Ngoma for helping me with a laptop as well as Nkululeko Jovic Kodisang for his efforts in organising some participants for this study and many thanks to all those who agreed to be participants in this venture. Words cannot describe the appreciation I have for the two people who have been with me since my first day on earth, my parents. I would like to thank you for the emotional support, prayers and everything else you have done and will do for me. Ndinotenda vabereki. Lastly I would like to give a resounding and profound gratitude to all my friends, family, colleagues (you all know who you are) for the support, prayers, encouragement, motivation, intellectual discussions, inspiration etc. Thank you, ndinotenda, ngiyabonga. ii DEDICATION To Dorothy Jiri, Ranganai Mukorombindo, Kundai Kuwengwa and Maybe Jiri. iii ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ATM – Automated Teller Machine CBD – Central Business District CDE - Centre for Development Enterprise COJ – City of Johannesburg CPI – Consumer Price Index ESAP – Economic Structural Adjustment Programme GDP – Gross Domestic Product ILO – International Labour Organisation LLL – Land-Labour-Livelihood M&G – Mail & Guardian NGO – Non-Governmental Organisation PnP – Pick ‘n’ Pay StatsSA – Statistics South Africa SWOP – Society, Work and Development Institute iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration……………………………………………………………………………………..i Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………….ii Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………….iii Acronyms and Abbreviations………………………………………………………………....iv CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………...1 Research Background and Context of Study…………………………………………..1 Significance of Study……………………………………………………………….....2 Aims and Goals of Study……………………………………………………………...3 Questions Tackled……………………………………………………………………..3 Chapter Outline………………………………………………………………………..4 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW: PRIOR RESEARCH ON WORK AND LIVELIHOOD………………………………………………………………………………..6 The Importance of Work Discourse…………………………………………………...6 An Overview of the South African Retail Sector…………………………………….10 The Struggles of Retail Sector Workers Under Labour Market Flexibility………….12 Low Wages…………………………………………………………………...14 High Turnover………………………………………………………………..17 Working Hours……………………………………………………………….18 v The Decent Work Discourse…………………………………………………19 Retail Sector Workers: The Working Poor…………………………………………..21 The Strategies Used by the Working Poor…………………………………………...24 Land-Labour-Livelihood (LLL) Framework………………………………………...30 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………….....33 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..33 Research Location……………………………………………………………………33 Research Site and Field Experience………………………………………………….34 Research Design……………………………………………………………………...34 Population……………………………………………………………………………36 Sampling……………………………………………………………………………...37 Purposive Sampling…………………………………………………………..37 Snowball Sampling…………………………………………………………..38 The Participants………………………………………………………………39 In-depth Interviews…………………………………………………………………..41 Interview Schedule: The Research Tool……………………………………..42 Observation…………………………………………………………………………..42 Data Analysis………………………………………………………………………...43 vi Ethical Consideration………………………………………………………………...43 Methodological Limitations………………………………………………………….44 CHAPTER IV: THE GENERAL CONSENSUS: THE SALARY DOES NOT CATER FOR THE WORKER’S NEEDS…………………………………………………………..46 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..46 Low Remuneration in the Retail Sector……………………………………………...47 Failure of Wages to Cover For Basic Needs…………………………………47 Failure of Wages to Secure Long-Term Investment…………………………52 Lack of Benefits……………………………………………………………...55 Against the Backdrop of Low Remuneration in the Retail Sector…………………...61 Salary: The Most Significant Driver into the Retail Jobs……………………62 Labour Market Histories……………………………………………………..65 The Low Wages Are Better Than Nothing…………………………………..71 Workers’ Household Compositions………………………………………………….73 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………75 CHAPTER V: COPING STRATEGIES: “THERE IS NO WAY WE CAN ALL BE BROKE AT THE SAME TIME”………………………………………………………….77 vii Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..77 The Socio-Economic Status of the City of Johannesburg……………………………78 Survival and Livelihood Strategies…………………………………………………..80 Income Generating Activities………………………………………………...80 The Limits of Work-Time Shifts on Other Pursuits………………………….85 Saving Techniques: Let Us Just Live Off The Little That We Have………...89 Accommodation/Living Arrangements……………………………………....93 Transport/Travelling Arrangements………………………………………….98 Social Capital and Social Networks As a Survival Strategy………………………..101 Using Social Capital and Social Network in Addressing the “Debt Problem”…………………………………………………………………….108 Biopolitics in Relation to Work and Survival Strategies…………………………...110 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..113 CHAPTER VI: CONCLUSION………………………………………………………….115 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………………120 APPENDICIES Appendix I: Participant Information Sheet………………………………………………137 Appendix II: Participant Consent Form………………………………………………….139 Appendix III: Interview Schedule………………………………………………………….140 viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Research Background and Context of Study Many studies within the spectrum of social sciences that look at South African worker struggles and labour relations have been focusing on the hard labour sectors like mining, construction, metalwork and textile. Other forms of work have started to surface within the social sciences discourse and these include domestic work (Cock, 1980; Ally, 2009) and security guards (Sefalafala & Webster, 2013). I have thus identified the retail sector as an area of study which present and prospective scholars need to pay more attention to in South Africa. At a global level, the retail sector has been identified as one that does not have good labour relations and the wages it offers are very low to such an extent that the retail workplaces have been juxtaposed to sweatshops and it has been seen that these two are similar (Chan, 2011). This means that the retail sector world over has not been making steps in offering employees decent work as prescribed by the International Labour Organisation. Publications on labour issues within the retail sector in the country have been limited but scholars like Kenny (2001; 2004; 2007; 2009; 2011) have been making progressive strides in addressing matters that arise in that particular industry. Labour movements have a history and mandate of fighting for the rights of the workers and representing them in tripartite negotiations with business and the state. However studies have shown that with capital interests being prioritised by the government over those of the workers and citizens as this is evident in the 1996 class project which saw the adoption of the GEAR as macroeconomic policy. Neoliberalism has become the key economic philosophy guiding business operations in the country (Marais, 2011). This kind of operation has left businesses with the power to undermine trade union activity leaving movements in a situation 1 whereby it is difficult for them to organise as there are new forms of work which makes it a daunting task for organisation to be successful (Bezuidenhout & Buhlungu, 2007; Kenny, 2005; Buhlungu, 2009). There have been calls by some academics who have suggested that there is a need for labour movements to re-strategise their way of organising as they are continuing to lose power (Webster & Adler, 1999) but this is yet to yield positive results. The crisis of unionism in wage labour has left a lot of workers in a precarious position and this means that the workers are also subject to precarious livelihoods outside the world of work. In relation to this, the study

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