3 | Labour Research Service

2 years ago

Gender equality: What it is and how to achieve it

Learn what creating a culture of gender equality means for the Labour Research Service.

2 years ago

How trade unions can support Education Support Personnel

by LRS education sector / education support personnel / volunteer food handlers

Teachers’ unions are concerned about the exploitation of education support personnel, the lack of decent jobs and the violation of fundamental human and labour rights, including the right to organise and bargain collectively.

A review of minimum wages in South Africa

by LRS domestic workers / farm workers / national minimum wage / wage negotiation

Increases in the national minimum wage were above inflation from 2021 to 2023, resulting in real wage increases of 1.3% in 2021, 1% in 2022 and 2.6% in 2023. The National Minimum Wage Commission gazetted a medium-term target that requires increases above CPI for the lowest paid workers.

2 years ago

What is the principle behind a condition at work?

by LRS collective bargaining / conditions at work / Negotiator's Guide

Conditions at work always have a principle of wellbeing, fairness or a social value that underpins them. This principle forms the foundation of arguments in negotiations. Here are 15 main types of conditions at work and their value.

2 years ago

What a 7.5% wage increase means for the lowest paid worker in the public sector

by George Mthethwa collective agreements / minimum wages / public sector / wage negotiation

Public sector workers will continue to have a hard time making ends meet. The increase is only 0.5% above the current rate of inflation.

2 years ago

Strengthening collective bargaining is essential to counter the tactics of big business

by LRS executive pay / Financial literacy / retail / shop stewards alliance / South African multinational companies

SACCAWU’s example shows how LRS member unions are getting better at using company information to win better outcomes for members.

2 years ago

Mapping the legal exclusion of domestic workers from labour law in Africa

by Ziona Tanzer africa / care work / domestic workers / labour law / social protection

An analysis of gaps in the regulation of domestic work in South Africa, Malawi, Mauritius, Lesotho, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.

2 years ago

Volunteer Food Handlers advocate to have their jobs made visible, recognised, valued and remunerated

by Nelly Nyagah care work / informalisation / National School Nutrition Programme / Power Up! Initiative / precarious employment / volunteer food handlers

At a media conference on 29 March, food handlers spoke about their campaign for decent jobs for the more than 60,000 workers recruited by the National School Nutrition Programme to prepare and serve meals in schools countrywide.

2 years ago

Building a campaign to recognise and value the work of Volunteer Food Handlers

by Nina Benjamin care work / informalisation / National School Nutrition Programme / Power Up! Initiative / precarious employment / volunteer food handlers

The workers who cook meals for millions of learners across the country are classified as volunteers and paid a stipend. Recruiting workers as volunteers has become another way of pushing women into unrecognised and low-paid work.

2 years ago