Shortages of skilled labour power and capital reconstruction in South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this article is twofold. Firstly, it seeks to evaluate the claims of those who argue that skill shortages are a significant force for change in South Africa. Secondly, it attempts to develop a critical analysis of an article by a Marxist writer, who somewhat surprisingly places 'skill shortages' well upstage in a recent article which examined the restructuring of capital in South Africa. The topic of skill shortages is a hardy perennial on the local scene, the more so because the race question tends to obscure the nature of class warfare here. According to a host of commentators, eliminating the colour bar will release a seriously binding constraint on the 'economy' and open the way to a period of unparalleled capital accumulation. Statistics on skill shortages produced to support this claim share one important characteristic and that is their almost universal unreliability. Given the conditions in this country, it is obvious that whether or not there really exists a skill shortage, a persistent belief that there is such a thing, particularly a belief that such shortages are widespread, is likely ultimately to have important political consequences.