Browsing by Author "Castel-Branco, Ruth"

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The Machamba is for life: navigating a precarious labour market in rural Mozambique
(Southern Centre For Inequality Studies (SCIS), 2022-12-01) Castel-Branco, Ruth
There is significant debate about the class dynamics of agrarian change in Africa. In his seminal work, Maidens, Meal, and Money: Capitalism and the Domestic Community, Meillassoux (1981) [1975] predicted the cannibalisation of the peasantry with the growing dominance of capitalist relations in the countryside. Yet, nearly half a century on, evidence points to the continued relevance of the peasantry as a social, economic, and political construct. Drawing on the case of Mozambique – where two thirds of the economically active population still identify as camponês or peasant – this paper explores the contradictory meanings of the peasantry under contemporary capitalism. The first section traces the making of the proletarian-peasant in Southern Africa, critically engaging Meillassoux’s seminal work on the ‘domestic community’. The second explores the differentiated ways in which camponeses improvise a livelihood through the vignettes of a nearly landless labourer, a petty commodity producer and an emerging capitalist farmer. The third unpacks the significance of the machamba or field in navigating labour insecurity, focusing on the following dimensions of meaning: sustenance, autonomy, and social recognition. Ultimately, the paper concludes, the peasantry embodies a contradictory set of meanings which reflect processes of commodity production rather than a precapitalist past. While the cultivation of the machamba offers an autonomous source of livelihood, it is characterised by drudgery and insecurity; while it provides a reservation wage, it subsidises a system of accumulation based on widespread precarity; while it represents a victory against land dispossession, it can further entrench neoliberalism. Nevertheless, land struggles continue to be the primary driver of contentious politics in Mozambique.
We want a living wage”: the impact of the national minimum wage on struggles of domestic workers in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Cabe, Musawenkosi; Castel-Branco, Ruth
In 2018, the South African government introduced the National Minimum Wage (NMW) Act as a structured policy intervention to address the high levels of working poverty and income inequality. Economic models projected that a NMW set at R3 500 a month would raise the incomes of almost half of South Africa’s workforce (Finn, 2015; Isaacs, 2016). However, a study commissioned by the National Minimum Wage Commission post-implementation, observed only a moderate increase in wages and a limited effect on the wage distribution. The “muted” impact of the NMW was attributed primarily to high levels of non-compliance, a lack of knowledge by employers and weak enforcement. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with domestic workers, employers and domestic workers organisations in Gauteng Province, this research report explores: How familiar are workers and employers with the NMW? How does the intimate nature of domestic work influence the possibilities of its enforcement? How have domestic workers leveraged the NMW, individually and collectively, to secure better working conditions? How can the South African case inform global campaigns to improve the conditions of work among domestic workers? The findings suggest that although the uptake was gradual because of the initial phase-in period, the NMW had a positive impact on the wages of domestic workers who participated in the research. There is a general awareness from employers and domestic workers of the NMW and, with the exception of one respondent, all domestic workers earned at least the NMW. However, domestic workers also noted that the NMW was too low and that given the high cost of living, they were not able to meet their basic needs. Therefore, domestic workers cultivate affective relationships with employers to secure benefits beyond the wage. However, affect is a double-edged sword which can be used by employers to extract additional work from domestic workers. Despite its limitations, the NMW has served as an anchor of recruitment and mobilisation for domestic workers unions and organisations, with some positive results as we saw with One-Wage-Campaign. However, as the South African case shows, the NMW alone cannot address the problem of poverty and inequality. The introduction of a NMW must be complemented by other social policy measures such as a Universal Basic Income Guarantee (UBIG), free public services, subsidised transport, and housing.