Labour

Minimum wage debate: the old cheap labour system will get us nowhere

The low wage argument is a red herring, argue Gilad Isaacs and Ben Fine in the latest contribution to the minimum wage debate.

Gilad Isaacs and Ben Fine

Opinion | 17 December 2014

Cape Town congress shows how Rana Plaza offers hope for workers’ rights

Rana Plaza was the deadliest factory disaster in history. On April 23 last year a shoddily built eight-storey building in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, collapsed.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 15 December 2014

R3.30 an hour: De Doorns child labour probed

The Department of Labour is investigating allegations of child labour on a grape and mushroom farm in the Hex Valley, outside De Doorns.

Daneel Knoetze

Feature | 15 December 2014

UCT responds on minimum wage

UCT's Deputy Vice-Chancellor responds to the article by Budlender and Lorenzen that criticised UCT's policy for next year on minimum wages.

Francis Petersen

Opinion | 10 December 2014

Csaawu launches campaign to save it from bankruptcy

Farmworkers union Csaawu has launched an online crowd-funding campaign to save it from bankruptcy.

Daneel Knoetze

Brief | 8 December 2014

UCT’s muddled minimum wage

Josh Budlender and Johan Lorenzen argue that the reasons given by the University of Cape Town (UCT) for the minimum wage of outsourced workers in 2015 do not make sense.

Josh Budlender and Johan Lorenzen

Analysis | 8 December 2014

Why domestic workers keep fighting

Nearly 17 years ago, sitting behind a slightly battered desk in Cape Town’s Salt River, Myrtle Witbooi told me that the dream of domestic workers being “treated like other workers” would not die. “We want a living wage and proper hours. It is a dream…but we will get there,” said the woman who, in Cape Town in 1965, convened the first organisational meeting of domestic workers.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 8 December 2014

“Ethical trade” wine farmer accused of strangling employee

A Robertson farm worker has laid a charge of assault against his employer after allegedly being “slapped and choked” on Wednesday morning. The attack, he said, was punishment for inviting a farm workers’ union leader onto the property. A case of assault is being investigated by the police.

Kimon de Greef

News | 4 December 2014

Domestic workers denied UIF by employers

Too many employers of domestic workers refuse to comply with the Unemployment Insurance Fund, leaving their employees seriously short changed.

Zintle Swana

News | 3 December 2014