Public sector industrial relations in the context of alliance politics: the case of Makana Local Municipality, South Africa (1994-2006)
- Authors: Makwembere, Sandra
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Makana Municipality , South African Municipal Workers Union , African National Congress , Cosatu , South African Communist Party , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Industrial relations -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Labor unions -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3301 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003089 , Makana Municipality , South African Municipal Workers Union , African National Congress , Cosatu , South African Communist Party , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Industrial relations -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Labor unions -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994-
- Description: This thesis is in the field of Industrial Relations. It concerns a micro-level investigation of the dynamics of public sector industrial relations in post-apartheid South Africa. It focuses on the Tripartite Alliance between the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and explores what the Alliance relationship has meant for the traditional roles of employees and their representatives on the one hand, and employers and their representatives on the other. The thesis examines the political, organisational and societal contradictions and implications for COSATU public sector union affiliates and their members in their relationship to the ANC as an ally (via the Alliance) and the context in which ANC members form part of management (in government). The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) was used as an archetype of a COSATU public sector union affiliate that engages with the State as employer at the municipal level. It is a case study of Makana Local Municipality (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa) using qualitative research techniques and content analysis to derive the relevant information. The author conducted a series of in-depth interviews of key informants and observations at Makana Local Municipality were done. Based on the empirical data obtained from the investigation, the thesis argues that the traditional roles in the employment relationship at the workplace have been affected by the political alliance. Industrial relations roles have become increasingly vague especially since many within local government share ANC/SACP memberships with members of the trade union. The study also highlights that within an increasingly globalising post-apartheid environment, the Alliance provides mixture of benefits and challenges for workplace negotiations and employment relations in ways that macro-level analyses of employer-employee relationships do not always capture.
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- Date Issued: 2007
The informal sector : micro-enterprise activities and livelihoods in Makana Municipality, South Africa
- Authors: Mtero, Farai
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Makana Municipality , Local government -- South Africa , Informal sector (Economics) -- South Africa , Microfinance -- South Africa , Economics -- Sociological aspects , Financial institutions -- Social aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3359 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007706 , Makana Municipality , Local government -- South Africa , Informal sector (Economics) -- South Africa , Microfinance -- South Africa , Economics -- Sociological aspects , Financial institutions -- Social aspects -- South Africa
- Description: This study examines the nature and characteristics of the informal sector within the Makana municipal area in South Africa. The focus is on the socio-economic characteristics of the informal sector operatives; operational characteristics of the microenterprises that we studied, such as longevity, employment generation, growth potential, and linkages of the informal sector with the formal sector of the economy. Extensive studies on the informal sector have been conducted in many parts of the world relative to South Africa. The key finding in most of these researches is that the informal sector is highly heterogeneous. These studies provide us with the parameters for analysing the nature and characteristics of the informal sector in the Makana Municipality. The results of the thesis show that the majority of people in Makana Municipality join the informal sector as a result of such push factors as unemployment, retrenchment and the need to survive. While there is evidence of lucrative activities amongst the surveyed enterprises, most of the informal sector micro-enterprises are concentrated in the lower segment of the sector where earnings are very low. Results from this study reveal that employment generation (beyond owner-operator) is very limited. The co-existence of a small number of remunerative activities alongside a large proportion of relatively unproductive activities is not only a sign of restricted economic potential but, most importantly, it points to the heterogeneous nature of the informal sector. Precisely, the informal sector encompasses activities which are different in terms of asset holdings, earnings, etc. From the study, it is also evident that the informal sector micro-enterprises play a crucial role in distributing goods produced in the formal sector. Evidence indicates that these micro-enterprises are Iinked to the formal sector. The idea of a 'second economy' devoid of linkages with the 'first economy' is of limited heuristic value. Thus, the 'second economy' is an extension of the first.
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- Date Issued: 2008