Making a Living Series
SERI’s fouth set of Community Practice Notes published in July 2017 focus on people in precarious work. The community practice notes in this series highlight the struggles many vulnerable people face in earning a livelihood, including poor working conditions, long hours, low pay, and the insecurity associated with part time, temporary or informal employment.
The first community practice note in the Making a Living Series is:
African Reclaimers Organisation: The Struggle for Recognition and Inclusion in Johannesburg's Recycling Industry the second Community Practice Note in the series, after Abattoir Workers: Unfair Labour Practices and Anti-Union Strategies in Robertson. The Community Practice Note follows ARO's initial years and its struggle against the City of Johannesburg’s “Separation@Source” recycling programme which utilises the services of private contractors to the exclusion of reclaimers and threatens the livelihoods of Johannesburg’s reclaimers.
It examines the recycling economy in Johannesburg, summarises key moments in ARO’s struggle against Separation@Source with private companies, discusses ARO’s strategies and tactics, and illustrates the experience of working as a reclaimer on landfill sites and in the city. It concludes with some pointers for the future, regarding recognition and waste picker integration into official waste management systems.
2. Abattoir Workers: Unfair Labour Practices and Anti-Union Strategies in Robertson
Abattoir Workers: Unfair Labour Practices and Anti-Union Strategies in Robertson is the first in the Making a Living Series of community practice notes. It details the struggles of a group of abattoir workers against unfair labour practices in Robertson. The workers were forced to work significant amounts of overtime (much more than the legal limit) and were dismissed when they resisted these unlawful practices. The community practice note documents their struggles to unionise and vindicate their rights in court.
This community practice note provides a brief background to the working conditions at an abattoir in Robertson; summarises the key events in the abattoir workers' struggle; and examines the strategies workers used to defend their rights. It is available in English and Afrikaans.