Thesis (Ph. D. (Dept. of Statistics, Faculty of Science))--University of the Western Cape, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-106).

Migrant labour constitutes one of the perennial problems of the political economy of the Southern African region. The movement of people between their home countries and the gold mines in South Africa is over a hundred years old. In this sense, labour migrancy predates apartheid, and is now threatening to outlive it. Migrants working in South Africa make up a sizable proportion of the total wage earning population of the neighbouring countries (Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique and Malawi). Their entrenched dependence on migrant-based revenue has made them vulnerable to fluctuations in labour flows to the gold mines (Davies, 1992) The developments since the first quarter of 1988 have altered the terms of debate on migrant labour. With the independence of Namibia and the establishment of a new government in South Africa, to name but a few, the pattern of future regional cooperation has become a central issue. Likewise, the debate about labour migrancy has entered a new phase. Given the current political changes, and yet to take place, this study constitutes a modest attempt to contribute to the debate by examining the prospects of restructuring of labour migrancy to the gold mining industry. The central aim of this undertaking will be to establish what the future holds for the foreign component of the labour force. The focus here will be on the emerging debates in this area, policy pronouncements by major stakeholders, the Chamber of Mines and the new Government of National Unity. However, an informed forecast on the future of labour migrancy is possible only if we establish the conditions that created it in the first place; how it has been constructed overtime; and the successive moments of transformation in the system. In this regard, this study will locate the origins and development of labour migration in its proper historical context ~ before drawing conclusions about the future of the system. In this scholarly pursuit one does not pretend to break a new ground but rather to re-interpret the current literature on migration and establish whether the current pattern of labour migration will change. The research will be based mainly on secondary materials, drawing extensively on published materials, journals and articles.

Foreigners working locally increasingly find themselves the victims of xenophobic violence, justified by the assertion that they have a lesser right to employment in South Africa than its own citizens. Given that South Africa subscribes to a broadly cosmopolitan set of international agreements supporting a basic human right to work regardless of national or ethnic origin, the implication is that even within a cosmopolitan-like framework it must permissible for citizens to exercise special considerations toward one another, and especially in regard to employment. As demonstrated by Robert Goodin and others, this case is difficult to make if foreign residents are also expected to contribute to the social good which makes citizenship so instrumentally valuable. Given that associativist models for special obligations are problematic when applied to citizens, it is argued that foreigners enjoy the same right to work as any other residents.

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Sociology, March 2017 / This study sought to explore how undocumented workers in the construction industry and their employers manage the employer – employee relationship in the absence of citizenship and (de facto if not de jure) labour rights for employees. Put simply, it sought to address the question, what governs workplace relations outside labour laws? Because of ‘illegal’ status in receiving countries, the literature has largely made it a norm to portray undocumented workers’ experiences as hyper-exploitative characterised by antagonistic relations with their employers. However by focusing on this subsection of the construction industry made up of Zimbabwean immigrant workers and their employers I was able to get a detailed picture of how labour relations take place in the absence of recourse to the law. Instead of antagonistic relations I found a more complicated picture which was nonetheless more harmonious and cooperative. This goes to show that while ‘illegality’ is an issue in the literature, it is less of one in a sector where ‘skilled’ work is important. These workers are able to assume greater leverage and negotiate (with employers) to a greater extent than the literature on precariousness and migrant labour reveals. This research thus calls for more investigations into spaces of negotiation in undocumented workers’ workplaces and relationships with employers so as to highlight more nuances and avoid generalising conclusions. In presenting these spaces of negotiation and workplace nuances, this study drew on narratives and experiences from both Zimbabwean employees and their employers who were in most instances subcontractors who also originated from Zimbabwe. These were obtained through in-depth interviews with workers and employers conducted between October 2016 and January 2017 and participant observations. / XL2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Migration and Displacement), 2017 / This study speaks to a broader literature on the precarity of service employees and undocumented migrants. Within this literature we see lives characterised by low paying jobs and a lack of social protection. Narratives and in-depth interviews were used in-order to find out how undocumented Zimbabwean waitrons in Johannesburg employ social networks to mitigate economic precarity. In examining Zimbabwean waitrons working the Johannesburg’s precarious hospitality sector, I found evidence that demonstrates the importance of social networks but demands we take a more nuanced look at the ways in which they work. More specifically, there are not only straight social connections, but sexual networks and, religious networks, and – perhaps most importantly – overt patterns of disconnections. While social networks can invariably play an important role in migrants’ (and others’) success, they are not without potential risks. In light of this, this study sought to systematically investigate the role of social networks in mitigating precarity. This study adds to emerging field of social networks of marginalised groups and a growing literature on migrant integration in the social and economic environments of the global south. / XL2018

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / The focus of the study was on the socio-economic impact of illegal Zimbabwean migration in South Africa and the measures taken by the South African government to deal with illegal migration. The study was qualitative in nature and concentrated on illegal Zimbabwean immigrants and government officials from the departments of Health and Social Development, Home Affairs and the South African Police Service as subjects. The area of study was Polokwane City under the Capricorn District. According to the research findings, the majority of Zimbabwean illegal immigrants chose to migrate illegally because they do not have passports to enable them to apply for visas, those who have visas cannot afford to pay the R2000 needed for a visa and also because South African due to the porous nature of South African borders, it is easier to migrate illegally than legally. Illegal immigrants have a serious impact on housing in terms of illegal squatting and the health sector. A positive impact has also been identified through the research findings in terms of cheap labour and on the formal and informal business sectors through the purchasing of goods and commodities for use and resale back in Zimbabwe.

In recent years, South Africa has attracted migrants from other African countries, many of whom find work in the informal sector of the economy. At the same time, African migrants elsewhere in Europe and the US have been shown to have higher rates of HIV infection than the general population. In South Africa, however, little is known about the vulnerability of international migrants to HIV infection. This study explored HIV/AIDS risks among informal economy migrants in the broader context of migration. The objective is to explore HIV/AIDS risk among migrants and to understand how migration experiences shape vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. This is a case study of ten Nigerian migrant traders in the Church Walk flea market in Durban. Ethnographic methods such as participant observation, individual and key informant interviews, as well as informal group discussion were used to collect in-depth data on migrants' motivations for migrating, challenges faced upon arriving in South Africa and sexual risk behaviours. It was found that migrants become vulnerable to HIV/AIDS both during the process of migration and once settled in the informal economy. Migrants found it difficult to secure jobs once in South Africa. Consequently, they had to deal with disillusionment, hunger, homelessness and hopelessness. During this period of hardship, migrants indulged in risky sexual practices such as having unprotected sex with casual partners as a means of dealing with their precarious situation. Migrants also had unprotected sex with many regular and casual partners once in the flea market where, as a last resort, they had found self-employment but had no access to HIV/AIDS intervention programmes. Reasons cited for risky sexual behaviour included separation from regular partners, loneliness, sexual pressures and the lack of social sanctions, which regulated sexual behaviour in their home country. The findings show that international migrants in the informal economy are a potential high-risk group for HIV infection and could transmit HIV to local partners as well as regular partners in their home country. This study highlights the need for interventions to reach this population. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

Since South Africa was declared a democratic country, the number of refugees fleeing to South Africa has increased. While it is understandable that refugees would flee to a country with a Constitution that protects the rights of everyone within its territory, this influx of refugees and migrants also puts a strain on the South African economy. One of the main problems associated with refugees and migrants in this country is their illegal status. Failure to obtain legal status in the country can be attributed to their own negligence to attend to the Refugee Reception Office, upon their arrival in the country. On the other hand, the South African government also fails foreigners in that the service provided at the Refugee Reception Offices is not up to the standard promised in the legislation. A further problem associated with refugees and migrants in the country is that they are competing with South Africans for jobs that are already scarce in the country. A foreigners need to earn a living is the driving force behind entering the employment market, and often illegally. Where refugees and migrants do not have the required work permits, their employment is prohibited in terms of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 and they are thus illegal workers. Until recently, South Africa has followed the same policy as other international countries. Illegal workers did not have access to the protection provided by our labour legislation, by virtue of the illegality of their employment contracts. This position was changed by the Discovery Health case where the courts focused more on the existence of an employment relationship as oppose to an employment contract.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration in Project Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Cape Town, 2018. / The demand for project management specialists grows worldwide. Traditionally, certain industries have been more project-oriented than others. However, nowadays, organisations in both private and public sector have embraced Project Management as the ideal means of managing projects with the hopes of ensuring the intended benefit delivery. Project management is a skill that is in high demand in South Africa. Project managers play a vital role in the economic growth of a developing country. This has resulted in organisations investing considerable resources to ensure that they build the capacity needed to effectively manage projects. South Africa is a diverse country in terms of age, culture, education, gender, race and religion amongst a group of people living or working together. Globalization has increased diversity within the workplace which is challenging and worsened knowing the country’s history. The attributes required to be a successful project manager include excellent interpersonal, communication skills, project management skills, adept problem solving and the ability to work well under pressure, whilst being highly adaptable and logical thinker. Confidence, strong negotiating skills and being able to motivate a team in order to achieve the goals is necessary; a project manager is a leader and a skilled delegator. Managers have diverse team to manage which speaks to the need for people of the different social dispositions to be able to co-exist. In the workplace, there is generally an organisational culture that speaks largely to how things are done. The culture observed by the outside world is largely because of the coming together of all the different people, with different origins, different tastes and different objectives. In this study, a construct was developed to identify the perceptions of the subordinates about the environment they work in and to identify the exact differences – things or behaviours that are perceived to be alien to their expectations.

The aim of the thesis is to identify the pressures that contributed to the rise in international labour migration in Lesotho, and to investigate how these pressures are impacting upon the modernization process in the country, particularly at a time when employment opportunities are scarce in the southern African region. International labour migration has been used as a development tool throughout history, but especially in the 20th century by developing countries with dual labour markets. Newly independent developing countries with dual labour markets adapted the strategy of import substitution industrialization (lSI), with an emphasis on protecting infant industries and promoting pro-labour policies. In the post-colonial period the international demand for lowskilled workers rose, particularly in the North (developed countries), and in mineral rich countries including the oil exporters and South Africa, and the newly industrialising countries in East Asia. International labour migration to these countries was adapted as an integral development tool by the governments of the lSI countries. Most migrants were low-skilled and temporary workers in the destination countries. Although no multilateral institutional framework existed, usually both the sending and receiving countries adapted unilateral and bilateral migration policies to guarantee the gains from migration. Workers were thus "protected" to varying degrees under such agreements. From the 1970s, the North experienced a slowdown in the growth in demand for unskilled workers. In the 1980s, many lSI countries experienced devastating economic crises that forced them to abandon the lSI policy and adapt the export-led industrialisation (EOI) policy with an emphasis on trade liberalization. The switch from lSI to EOI in developing countries with dual labour markets led to the downsizing of public sector employment, the removal of marketing boards formally used by small-scale agricultural farmers, and the expansion of export processing zones (EPZs). These outcomes resulted in a rise in push internal migration, and international migration from these countries especially to other developing countries. At the same time, since the late 1980s, capital has acquired greatly enhanced mobility at the global level. The adaptation of EOI and the full mobility of capital at the global level altered the institutional structure within which labour migration was governed both nationally, and internationally. At the national level stricter unilateral policies were reinforced by receiving countries for low-skilled labour, while less strict policies applied for skilled labour. These remain in operation in conjunction with the earlier bilateral agreements. At the international level, there remains a lack of policy to regulate international labour migration. Under the current enhanced mobility of capital, international migrants are thus left vulnerable. Lesotho fits this pattern. Faced with a dual economy and an abundance of semi-skilled labour, Lesotho has been a principal supplier of labour to the South Africa's mining industry since its independence. Lesotho's industrial diversification thus mirrors South Africa's industrial diversification. In the lSI phase (1968 - 1987), international labour migration became the most important tool of economic welfare generation in Lesotho. Bilateral agreements were signed in the early 1970s between Lesotho and South Africa to guarantee the gains from migration. Since the late I980s, the mining industry in South Africa began to downsize production and employment. Fewer novice miners from Lesotho were recruited to work in South Africa. The adaptation of the EOI policy in Lesotho in 1987 introduced EPZ industrialization and trade liberalization. Nevertheless, the retrenchment of mine workers from South Africa is occurring at a time when Lesotho is experiencing an employment crisis. The political independence of South Africa in 1994 was accompanied by stricter international migration policies by the new democratic government of South Africa. Most migrant workers in South Africa are thus now faced with a two-door policy (of the earlier bilateral agreements and the amendments to the Aliens Control Act). This system has left migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation by both employers and the law (police) in South Africa. Nevertheless, international migration from Lesotho to South Africa continues to expand, particularly of the new type of migration - semiskilled female workers in the services sector. At the same time, South Africa is also experiencing an employment crisis. The most important policy implications are, firstly, that migration is subject to the same "casualisation" as other work, with the effects made worse by the "statelessness" of migrants, who are most vulnerable to exploitation. Secondly, multilateralism is needed (e.g., SADC) and holistic, multilateral policies are required. It is clear that under the new global division of labour ad hoc policy towards international labour migration is ineffective.