Yes / Set in the context of the recent unprecedented upsurge of in-work poverty (IWP) in the UK – which currently exceeds out of work poverty – this article presents an account of the realities of experiencing poverty and being employed. Central issues of low-pay, limited working hours, underemployment and constrained employment opportunities combine to generate severe financial complexities and challenges. This testimony, taken comparatively over a year, reveals the experiences of, not only IWP, but of deep poverty, and having insufficient wages to fulfil the basic essentials of nourishing food and adequate clothing. This article contributes to current academic and social policy debates around low-paid work, IWP, the use of foodbanks and underemployment. New dimensions are offered regarding worker vulnerabilities, given the recent growth of the IWP phenomenon.

En accédant à l'indépendance, la République de Djibouti, comme la plupart des pays anciennement colonisés, a reconduit le droit du travail mis en place pendant la période de colonisation. Il s'est agi pour les nouvelles autorités djiboutiennes de faire perdurer une réglementation faisant de la loi l'outil exclusif d'encadrement des relations de travail. Cette situation, caractérisée par une absence de créativité normative unique en Afrique, a duré presque un demi-siècle, jusqu'aux années 90. A cette époque, le pays a été atteint par la crise économique et financière. Ceci a contraint l'Etat djiboutien à se tourner vers les Institutions financières internationales (FMI, Banque mondiale) qui l’ont appelé à se désengager de la vie économique et sociale. La réforme du droit du travail entamée en 1997 et confirmée par l'adoption d'un nouveau Code du travail en 2006 s'est inscrite dans cette optique.Malgré l'offensive libérale, le nouveau droit du travail porte la marque d’une hétéronomie persistante. Toutefois, une contractualisation relative mais significative de l'encadrement juridique des relations de travail est engagée. Ainsi, les normes étatiques issues de la législation antérieure sont largement reconduites pour garantir la santé et la sécurité au travail ainsi que pour limiter et répartir le temps de travail. En revanche, en matière de fixation de la rémunération, la réforme libérale a donné lieu à une large déréglementation.A ce jour, la réforme ne paraît pas être allée au bout de sa logique libérale. Elle ne s'est pas traduite par un retrait radical de la puissance publique. Il ne fait toutefois aucun doute qu'on est bien passé du recours exclusif à la loi pour la détermination des conditions d'emploi, de travail et de rémunération, à la possibilité d'intervention, de façon inégale en fonction des matières, du contrat individuel ainsi que des conventions et accords collectifs. / Upon gaining independence, The Republic of Djibouti, as is the case with most of former colonies, renew the labour law implemented during the colonial period. For Djiboutian authorities, it is a matter of preserving a regulation which is the exclusive tool for managing working relations. This situation which is marked by the lack of a normative creativity, only peculiar to Africa, has lasted for half of a century and went on up until the 90’s during which the country witnessed a financial and economic crisis. Beset with this crisis, the Djiboutian state turned to the international financial institutions (IMF, World Bank) which impel it to disentangle from social and economic life. The reform of labour law which began in 1997 and materialized by the adoption of the new Labour Code of 2006 is truly a part of this approach.Despite the liberal offensive, the new modification which is currently under way is characterized by the remarkable persistence of heteronomy and a relative yet significant contractualization of the legal framework of working relations. With regards to the working conditions, the state standards derived from former legislation are mostly renewed to not only ensure the hygiene and the security at the work place but to limit and organize the working time. However, regarding the setting of remunerations, the liberal reform leads to a large deregulation.Up to this day, the reform has not fulfilled its liberal purpose. It has failed to result in decrease of public power. However, there is no doubt that there has been a shift from the exclusive recourse to terms and conditions of employment, work, and remuneration to the possibility of intervention, to varying degrees and according to the matters, of individual contracts as well as the conventions and collective agreements.

This doctoral thesis deals with the regulation of non-standard employment in Southern Africa: the case of South Africa with reference to several other SADC countries. The growth and presence of non-standard employment since the 1970s has revealed an important concern in a number of countries, both at the global and national levels. The overall significance of non-standard employment has increased in recent decades in both developed and developing states, as its use has grown exponentially across economic sectors and employment. Non-standard employment is the opposite of the standard employment relationship, which is work that is full time and indefinite. Non-standard employment includes an unequal employment relationship between an employee and an employer. Some workers choose to work in non-standard employment, and the choice has positive results. Nonetheless, for the majority of workers, non-standard employment is associated with job insecurity, exploitation, and the absence of trade unions and collective bargaining. Non-standard employment can also create challenges for firms, the labour market and the economy, including society at large. Backing decent work for all entails a comprehensive understanding of non-standard employment and its ramifications. This study explores the regulation and protection of non-standard employment in Southern Africa with focus on South Africa. The study draws on international and regional labour standards, the South African Constitution of 1996, and the national experience to make policy recommendations that will ensure workers are protected, firms are sustainable and labour markets operate well. Social justice and the democratisation of the workplace cannot be achieved if workers in non-standard employment are excluded from the labour relations system. / Mercantile Law / LL. D.

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Income inequality is prevalent in both developed and developing countries. In all of these countries there are workers who are highly paid while others are given very low wages. The disgruntled low-paid workers in these countries usually force their governments to intervene in the labour market and introduce the redistributive policies like the minimum wage policy. Governments usually accede to these demands of low-paid workers because they do not want to invite political troubles. That led to an increase in the number of countries using minimum wage policy as redistributive mechanism in the late 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Minimum wage policy is, however, a very controversial issue. Supporters of minimum wages regard the policy as ideal because it provides social protection to un-unionised and low-paid workers with little or no bargaining power. The opponents of the policy on the other hand argue that wages in the labour market should be determined by the forces of demand and supply. It is argued that wages that are artificially determined lead to the rationing of jobs and displacement of the very same low-paid workers that the policy is intended to protect, as employers are forced to replace unskilled workers with skilled workers and machines. South Africa’s agricultural sector workers were among some of the least paid workers in the country. Employers were able to exploit these workers because they were not protected by any labour legislation that workers in other sectors were afforded. Farm workers were only protected by common law. It was only in the 1990s that labour legislations like Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Labour Relations Act, Employment Equity Act, Extension of Security Act and Tenure Act and Skills Development Act were extended to the agricultural sector in an attempt to protect the working conditions of vulnerable workers. These acts as well failed to improve the working conditions of the agricultural sector workers and that prompted the Minister of Labour to instruct the Director-General of Labour to conduct the necessary investigations to see if it could be necessary to introduce minimum standard of employment in the sector, including minimum wages. That led to the adoption of Sectoral Determination 8 of 2003 which introduced sectoral minimum wage in the sector. The sectoral minimum wage which came into effect in 2003 was increased annually by the rate of inflation plus one per cent. It was only in 2013, after the Western Cape farm workers went on strike for higher wages, that the minimum wage was raised by 52 per cent. As argued by the opponents of minimum wages, job losses occurred among unskilled workers. The implementation of minimum wage policy in the agricultural sector was problematic, as the policy was not properly complied with due to several compliance concerns. Apart from there being insufficient inspectors to monitor and investigate cases of non-compliance, inspectors were under-trained and under-equipped. Fines imposed on offenders were too small, which further encouraged disregard for the policy. / Economics / M. Com. (Economics)