10.2190/WR.16.2.c D66K906003PG3W75 3 Discordant Voices: The Hidden World of Johannesburg's Inner City Clothing Workers 149 169 20130116 20130116 20130116 20130116 D66K906003PG3W75.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=D66K906003PG3W75 2 Katherine Joynt Edward Webster University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa The aim of this article is to examine the working conditions of the new informal proletariat—or precariat—that has emerged in the clothing industry in the inner city of Johannesburg. Drawing on the results of in-depth interviews and nonparticipant observation, we provide a portrait of these workers. We describe the impact of international competition on the clothing industry and show how the production of clothing has changed in the inner city of Johannesburg in the province of Gauteng, South Africa. We argue that a four-tiered employment structure has emerged, with four main types of clothing enterprises in the area, each linked differently into the value chain for the manufacture of clothing, offering different working conditions, and experiencing different challenges. The enterprises that offer the least security are survivalist cut-make-and-trims (CMTs) in which the precariat, consisting of predominantly foreign male clothing workers, work in enterprises that are the least connected to the value chain for the manufacture of clothing. We describe the largely unsuccessful attempts made by the clothing workers' union to close the representational gap by organising informal workers in the inner city. We conclude by suggesting that any strategy for upgrading the industry must not only focus on economically upgrading the value chain but also needs to develop a strategy to improve the working and living conditions of the workers. This will require taking on board the concerns of those who occupy the hidden world of the clothing industry in the inner city.

Altman M. 1994. An industrial strategy for the clothing sector. Cape Town, South Africa: University of Cape Town Press.

Anner, M., Greer, I., Hauptmeier, M., Lillie, N., & Winchester, N. 2006. The industrial determinants of transnational solidarity: Global interunion politics in three sectors. European Journal of Industrial Relations, 12: 35-50.

Barrientos, S., Gereffi, G., & Rossi, A. 2010. Economic and social upgrading in global production networks: Developing a framework for analysis. Retrieved from <a target="_blank" href='http://www.capturingthegains.org/pdf/ctg-wp-2010-03.pdf'>http://www.capturingthegains.org/pdf/ctg-wp-2010-03.pdf</a>

Bennett, M. 2003. Organizing in the informal economy: A case study of the clothing industry in South Africa. Retrieved from <a target="_blank" href='http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_emp/—emp_ent/—ifp_seed/documents/publication/wcms_117699.pdf'>http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_emp/—emp_ent/—ifp_seed/documents/publication/wcms_117699.pdf</a>

Bonnet, F., Figueiredo, J., & Standing, G. 2003. A family of decent work indexes. International Labour Review, 142: 214-238.

Budlender, D. 2009. Industrial relations and collective bargaining: Trends and developments in South Africa. Retrieved from <a target="_blank" href='http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_dialogue/—dialogue/documents/publication/wcms_158016.pdf'>http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_dialogue/—dialogue/documents/publication/wcms_158016.pdf</a>

Capital Trade Incorporated. 2009. An assessment of China's subsidies to strategic and heavyweight industries. Retrieved from <a target="_blank" href='http://www.uscc.gov/researchpapers/2009/CAP%20TRADE%20China%27s%20Subsidies%20to%20Strategic%20%20Heavyweight%20Industries%20—%20FINAL%20Report%2023March2009.pdf'>http://www.uscc.gov/researchpapers/2009/CAP%20TRADE%20China%27s%20Subsidies%20to%20Strategic%20%20Heavyweight%20Industries%20—%20FINAL%20Report%2023March2009.pdf</a>

Castells, M., & Portes, A. 1989. World underneath: The origins, dynamics and effects of the informal economy. In A. Portes, M. Castells, & L. Benton (Eds.), The informal economy: Studies in advanced and less developed countries: 11-37. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.

Clarke, M., & Godfrey, S. 2011. Skirting regulation? Trade liberalisation, retailers and the informalisation of South Africa's clothing industry. Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation, 5: 76-94.

Department of Trade and Industry. 2011. Industrial Policy Action Plan 2011/2012-2013/2014, Economic Sectors and Employment Cluster. Retrieved from <a target="_blank" href='http://www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=144975'>www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=144975</a>

Devey, R., Skinner, C., & Valodia, I. 2006. Definitions, data and the informal economy in South Africa: A critical analysis In V. Padayachee (Ed.), The development decade? Economic and social change in South Africa, 1994-2004: 302-323. Cape Town: Human Sciences Research Council.

Fenwick, C., Howe, J., Trabsky, M., & Summerbell, S. 2006. Labour law and labour-related laws in micro and small enterprises: Innovative regulatory approaches. Retrieved from <a target="_blank" href='http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_emp/-emp_ent/documents/publication/wcms_093618.pdf'>http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_emp/-emp_ent/documents/publication/wcms_093618.pdf</a>

Jeannerat, C. 2009. Of lizards, misfortune and deliverance: Pentecostal soteriology in the life of a migrant. African Studies, 68: 251-271.

Landau, L. 2009. Living within and beyond Johannesburg: Exclusion, religion, and emerging forms of being. African Studies, 68: 197-214.

Mbaye, A., & Weiyong, Y. 2008. Implications of the Asian Miracle on Africa: A comparative analysis of the textile/garment sector in Senegal and China. Retrieved from <a target="_blank" href='http://vi.unctad.org/resources-mainmenu-64/digital-library?act=show&doc_name=79-chisenjr'>http://vi.unctad.org/resources-mainmenu-64/digital-library?act=show&doc_name=79-chisenjr</a>

Miller, D., & Williams, P. 2009. What price a living wage? Implementation issues in the quest for decent wages in the global apparel sector. Global Social Policy, 9: 99-125.

Murray, M. 2011. City of extremes: The spatial politics of Johannesburg. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.

Naumann, E. 2002. An analysis of the spatial distribution of the clothing and textile industry in SADC. Retrieved from <a target="_blank" href='http://dspace.cigilibrary.org/jspui/bitstream/123456789/7346/1/An%20Analysis%20of%20the%20Spacial%20Distribution%20of%20the%20Clothing%20Textile%20Industry%20in%20SADC.pdf?'>http://dspace.cigilibrary.org/jspui/bitstream/123456789/7346/1/An%20Analysis%20of%20the%20Spacial%20Distribution%20of%20the%20Clothing%20Textile%20Industry%20in%20SADC.pdf?</a>

Nzayabino, V. 2010. The role of refugee established churches in integrating forced migrants: A case study of Word of Life Assembly in Yeoville, Johannesburg. Theological Studies, 66: 1-9.

Skinner, C. 2006. Dealing with the informal economy: A challenge for unions in Southern Africa. Retrieved from <a target="_blank" href='http://www.fesnam.org/pdf/2006/events/No18_PaperSkinner.pdf'>http://www.fesnam.org/pdf/2006/events/No18_PaperSkinner.pdf</a>

Skinner, C., & Valodia, I. 2002. Labour market policy, flexibility, and the future of labour relations: The case of KwaZulu Natal clothing industry. Transformation, 50: 56-76.

Standing, G. 2010. Work after globalization: Building occupational citizenship. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

Vasquez, M. 2009. The global portability of Pneumatic Christianity: Comparing African and Latin American Pentecostalisms. African Studies, 68: 273-286.

Vlok, E. 2006. South Africa. In H. Jauch & R. Traub-Merz (Eds.), The future of the textile and clothing industry in Sub-Saharan Africa: 227-246. Bonn: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

Weil, D., & Mallo, C. 2007. Regulating labour standards via supply chains: Combining private/public interventions to improve workplace compliance. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 45: 791-814.

Wilhelm-Solomon, M. 2010. Humanitarian crisis close to home. Mail and Guardian, December 14.

Wines, M. 2010. China fortifies state business to fuel growth. New York Times, August 29.

Wood, G. 2001. South African labour unions in a time of adjustment. Labour/Le Travail, 47: 133-150.