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Inequality and Economic Inclusion

Thursday, 09 December 2010

Towards a Right to Work: The Rationale for an Employment Guarantee in South Africa

  • Year: 2010
  • Organisation: TIPS
  • Author(s): Kate Philip
  • Countries and Regions: India, South Africa

What if unemployed people in South Africa had a right – a real right – to a minimum level of regular work, on decent terms?
 
In 2005, India passed a law guaranteeing rural households up to 100 days of work per annum, at minimum wage rates. Over 55 million households now participate in the programme, with significant impacts on poverty in rural India.

Could an employment guarantee be part of the solution to the crisis of unemployment in South Africa?

In a new policy paper from TIPS, Kate Philip argues the case for an employment guarantee in South Africa, using the experience of the Community Work Programme to illustrate how such an approach could work in the South African context.