The relation between precarious work and housing circumstances: a case study on the challenges that low-paid workers in Ekurhuleni face in accessing housing

Abstract

The research that I have conducted aims to collect the experiences and challenges of low-income workers in accessing accommodation and housing related experiences. The research focused on low-paid workers employed at ORT international airport located near Kempton Park. The participants were selected through a snowballing technique, starting with the General Operations Manager who works under the same department as the cashiers, thus the referrals were achieved through the manager. The research was conducted through qualitative interviews conducted by online platforms such as the telephone. The target population selected focused on low-income persons (cashiers) and the type of housing that was being accessed. The study focused on cashiers who work under vulnerable precarious working conditions that deprived the workers from independently purchasing a home. Additionally, the study brought together the importance of location when it came to housing, in relation to transport costs and the hours spent during back-and-forth commutes (from work to their homes).This was to highlight that location plays a pivotal role in a household’s livelihood by connecting people with facilities in their surroundings. In conclusion, in response to the housing crisis for low-income households, it was found that the cashiers were found living in several types of housing. For example, some cashiers continued sharing accommodation with their families to avoid paying rent as the wage was already not enough to survive off. Additionally, some cashiers preferred renting in backyards closer to the workplace to avoid excessive transport costs and the exhaustion of travelling to work daily. The findings further revealed how the cashiers had to try to access housing and manage transportation costs using their low incomes. However, to a substantial extent the study revealed the government’s efforts in reaching out to low-income households through housing projects such as the Reconstruction Development Programme (RDP), Social Housing and Financially Linked Individual Subsidy Programme. These housing projects not only reached out in creating homeownership for low-income households but also encouraged the notion of housing as an asset, thus allowing beneficiaries to use their homes to generate additional incomes by renting out backyard rooms and operating small businesses such as spaza shops and salons, within their yards.