South Africa: Mesebetsi survey report

Mesebetsi survey report

----------------------------------------

Press statement issued by the Congress of South African Trade Unions.

To receive future press statements go to
http://gate.cosatu.org.za/mailman/listinfo/press

----------------------------------------

The Congress of South African Trade Unions welcomes the
Mesebetsi Labour Force Survey Report, by Fafo, the
Norwegian Institute for Applied Social Science. The survey
confirms many of COSATU’s own findings about the levels
of unemployment, poverty, inequality and racism in South
Africa and flatly contradicts government ministers’ claims
that the country’s economic fundamentals are ‘sound’.

The survey proves that the “Growth, Employment and
Redistribution Strategy” (GEAR) has achieved none of its
objectives. Growth has failed to keep pace with the rise in
the population, more and more people are being
condemned to unemployment and poverty and the
distribution of wealth has hardly improved since the days of
apartheid.

Unemployment, says the survey, is between 32% of the
labour force, if you exclude those not actively seeking work,
and 45% if you include all those without work. These
alarming figures prove that COSATU has been right to call
this level of unemployment a national crisis.

The survey also reveals a continuing racial and gender bias
in unemployment, with women, rural people and Africans
most likely to be unemployed or marginal members of the
labour force. Over 60% of African women are unemployed,
compared to 10% of white men.

The report also confirms that South Africa is one of the
most unequal societies on earth. The poorest 50% of the
population receive about 10% of national income, while the
richest 10% receive 50%. The average monthly salary
amongst whites is R6131, compared to R1638 amongst
Africans. This ratio shows no change since 1995.

The report also challenges “the so-called labour
aristocracy” argument. It shows 70% of the income of the
unemployed comes from remittances from other household
members who have jobs. 49% of the poorest people as a
whole also rely on gifts from household members. Only
15% of households receive government pensions and a tiny
1% live on unemployment benefits from the UIF.

The report says that while “government transfers and grants
help to move people out of poverty, it is mostly remittances
from family members that people can rely on to move out of
extreme poverty”. This means that many workers are in
effect paying a tax to maintain their unemployed relatives.
This reinforces the argument of the Coalition for a Basic
Income Grant that only a universal grant can seriously
tackle the poverty suffered by millions of South Africans.

The survey confirms that union membership leads to better
working conditions. A quarter of all workers are union
members and they are concentrated in those sectors – the
public sector, mining and manufacturing – that have the
most collective bargaining agreements and best working
conditions. Most union members reported getting paid
annual leave, notably in the public sector, mining &
quarrying and the financial sector. Maternity leave is most
frequent in the public sector.

The largely unorganised informal sector, however, suffers
from lack of all types of leave, with those in the agriculture,
construction, retail and domestic sectors suffering the
most. Whereas two thirds of employees in the formal;
sector receive paid sick leave, in agriculture and the
domestic sector the figure is less than 25% and a mere 3%
in the informal sector.

Significantly the report revealed that only 17% of employees
who suffered from occupational injury of disease claimed
that their employers covered related medical expenses,
while 62% said they or their families paid. Only 3% had their
medical expenses reimbursed by the Accident Fund set up
under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and
Diseases Act.

There are many more areas where the report reveals
serious problems for millions of the poorest people.
COSATU hopes that this excellent report, which is written in
simple language, with clear graphics, will open up an urgent
national debate on job creation and poverty alleviation.

There is considerable disagreement about the accuracy of
SA labour market statistics. This report also diverges
somewhat from Statistics SA publications, although they
agree in finding high levels of unemployment and
informalisation. COSATU will table a proposal at Nedlac for
a meeting of the stakeholders to assess existing statistics
and reach agreement on how they can be improved to
support better-informed policy debates.

Nedlac must also debate the report itself and try to achieve
a national consensus around new policies to deal with the
problems it exposes. These must then be put before the
government’s Growth summit and then adopted and
urgently implemented by the government.

Patrick Craven and Moloto Mothapo
Acting COSATU Spokespersons

[email protected]
082-821-7456
339-4911

*********************************************************

Visit the COSATU web site at http://www.cosatu.org.za/press/latest.html for
copies of our most recent press statements.

Get free e-mail for union members. Visit www.union.org.za and sign up now!
It's free!

COSATU takes steps to ensure that any attachments are free from
viruses. You should, however, carry out your own virus check before
opening any attachment. COSATU accepts no liability for loss or
damage caused by software viruses.

***********************************************************

----------------------------------------

Contact 082-821-7456 Patrick Craven or Moloto Mothapo for further comment.

Visit the COSATU web site at http://www.cosatu.org.za/press/latest.html for
copies of our most recent press statements. For the full archive go to:
http://www.cosatu.org.za/press/archive.html.

Get free e-mail for union members. Visit http://www.union.org.za and sign
up now! It's free!

COSATU takes steps to ensure that any attachments are free from viruses.
You should, however, carry out your own virus check before opening any
attachment. COSATU accepts no liability for loss or damage caused by
software viruses.

----------------------------------------

Press mailing list
[email protected]
http://gate.cosatu.org.za/mailman/listinfo/press