Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree: Master of Arts in the field of Industrial & Economic Sociology School of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa July 2016 / This research study seeks to examine the South African labour market, using the case of ex-offenders and their difficulties in entering the formal labour market and securing full-time employment after they have been released from correctional facilities. The „Scarlet letter‟ in the title refers to a euphemism used to describe the effects of the criminal record on the prospect of employment. As part of the research, I also examine the perspectives of employers about their willingness to employ ex-offenders as well as some of the reservations they may have, as representatives of the labour market. Although there is extensive research on reintegration as well as barriers to reintegration, especially in Europe and the United States, none of these have married the labour market experiences and reintegration experiences of ex-offenders, especially in the South African context. This study employed qualitative research methods and techniques to explore the meaning ex-offenders attach to their social experiences. Data was collected by means of in-depth interviews in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the lived experiences of these ex-offenders and a vivid picture from the key informants. In this regard, participants in the study consisted of thirteen Black male ex-offenders, three representatives from the National Institute for Crime Prevention and Reintegration of Offenders (NICRO), one representative from a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) called We Can Change Our World (WCCOW), five Human resource managers at a property management firm as part of a focus group discussion and one executive at a recruitment company. All interviewed ex-offenders shared similar experiences of their challenges and limited social and economic reintegration, especially related to finding a job in South Africa. The study reveals that discrimination in the workplace continues in contemporary South Africa, but such experiences are even worse for ex-offenders. The study concludes that a lot still needs to be done to transform the South African labour market and correctional facilities, linked policies and practice for the majority, especially ex-offenders who have “paid their debt to society”. / GR2017

Crime in South Africa is one of the serious challenges facing post- apartheid democracy. As a result, many people find themselves jailed for different crimes which impact their ability to obtain formal employment upon release from jail. Therefore, employment is considered to be a significant contributor to an ex-offender not returning to offending behaviour. It is thus proposed that society has an essential and active role to play in attempts to lower recidivism rates. The hypothesis of this research was that lack of job opportunities for ex-offenders contributes to them breaking parole conditions. Also, communities where ex-offenders come from are not well prepared to welcome them back as transformed people. This treatment of ex-offenders contributes to them reoffending. Furthermore, the brick making industry plays a crucial role in the lives of ex-offenders by giving them an opportunity to be employed after serving their sentences. Finally, employment in the brick making business brings dignity back to the lives of ex-offenders. This study used qualitative research methods to address the research questions and gather relevant data. The use of a qualitative approach was adopted as it allows a deeper exploration of the different research objectives and questions of the study. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings of this study have revealed that the brick making business in the Mthatha region, in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa, is making a big difference in the lives of ex-offenders by offering them the opportunity to gain paid employment, thus contributing to their proper reintegration in their communities.