Breaking Down the Binary: Layers of Vulnerability among Internally and Internationally Mobile Workers in the Context of Southern Africa

Abstract

The end of apartheid in 1994 heralded a new era in South Africa's migrant labour recruitment system. The new democratic government spearheaded reforms to improve labour relations and recruitment practices in the agriculture sector. Using a layered vulnerability analysis framework, this article describes how the recruitment of migrants for agricultural work has shifted since the end of apartheid. Findings from an ethnographic study of undocumented Zimbabwean migrants in the Limpopo province show that the post-apartheid reforms have not effectively tackled the vulnerabilities which undocumented agricultural workers face. The lack of a coordinated recruitment system motivates farmers to employ strategies which expose migrants to various layers of vulnerability. A win-win outcome could be achieved by implementing a recruitment programme that does not impose stringent requirements on migrant agricultural workers. Pursuing this approach would reduce the vulnerabilities that the migrants face, enhance adherence to legislation and promote efficiency in agricultural productivity.

Amplifying invisibility: COVID‐19 and Zimbabwean migrant farm workers in South Africa

“…Migrants themselves are often undocumented and thus frequently avoid attention from media or state agencies (Jinnah, 2017). Geographically, they tend to be based in remote areas and thus often beyond the reach of journalists and state officials (Kudejira, 2021). What we know less about is how employers and political actors contribute to invisibilization through their own discursive framings.…”

“…While there is a long history of foreign migrant labour in South African agriculture (Kudejira, 2021), the proportion of foreigners employed in agriculture has increased dramatically since the end of apartheid, as employers have sought to cope with new forms of state regulation by sourcing cheaper and more exploitable workers (Ewert & du Toit, 2005). and state officials (Kudejira, 2021). What we know less about is how employers and political actors contribute to invisibilization through their own discursive framings.…”

Contending with precarity, temporariness and life aspirations in the context of international labour migration

“…Two contributions specifically tackle the capability of existent regulatory frameworks and policies to address the structural vulnerabilities and abuses faced by many migrant workers globally. First, building on the ‘layers of vulnerability’ conceptual framework to examine South Africa's post‐apartheid migrant labour recruitment scheme, Kudejira (2019) argues that the lack of a coordinated recruitment system has driven employers to implement strategies that expose undocumented Zimbabweans to a wide range of vulnerabilities. Kudejira's ethnographic study shows how South Africa's post‐apartheid labour migration policy has made international labour mobility more restrictive, resulting in a large number of undocumented workers flocking into the labour market.…”