New labour frontiers for old: black migrants to the South African gold mines, 1920–851

Yudelman, David; Jeeves, Alan H.

doi:10.1080/03057078608708134

Cited by 31 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…There is now a large literature on the oscillating migration of large numbers of miners recruited from surrounding countries and the rural Eastern Cape of South Africa, and on the profound socioeconomic impact of the migrant system on life in these regions [ 4 , 23 , 32 – 34 ]. The trend over the past four decades has been for labour from surrounding countries to be replaced by South African nationals, with the proportion of foreign nationals declining from over half of all miners employed in the 1973–1978 period to a quarter in 2008–2012.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The decline in the previously large number of Malawian recruits dates from 1974, with some reinstatement thereafter until complete cessation in the late 1980s. Reasons for these changes are varied, with pressures originating both in labour sending countries such as Malawi and Mozambique, and in South Africa, with changes in immigration laws and political and economic pressures on the industry to recruit domestically [ 4 , 23 , 32 , 34 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Public health implications of changing patterns of recruitment into the South African mining industry, 1973–2012: a database analysis

et al. 2017

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BackgroundThe triple epidemic of silicosis, tuberculosis and HIV infection among migrant miners from South Africa and neighbouring countries who have worked in the South African mining industry is currently the target of regional and international control efforts. These initiatives are hampered by a lack of information on this population.MethodsThis study analysed the major South African mining recruitment database for the period 1973 to 2012 by calendar intervals and demographic and occupational characteristics. Changes in area of recruitment were mapped using a geographic information system.ResultsThe database contained over 10 million contracts, reducible to 1.64 million individuals. Major trends relevant to health projection were a decline in gold mining employment, the major source of silicosis; increasing recruitment of female miners; and shifts in recruitment from foreign to South African miners, from the Eastern to the Northwestern parts of South Africa, and from company employees to contractors.ConclusionsThese changes portend further externalisation of the burden of mining lung disease to home communities, as miners, particularly from the gold sector, leave the industry. The implications for health, surveillance and health services of the growing number of miners hired as contractors need further research, as does the health experience of female miners. Overall, the information in this report can be used for projection of disease burden and direction of compensation, screening and treatment services for the ex-miner population throughout Southern Africa.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4640-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public health implications of changing patterns of recruitment into the South African mining industry, 1973–2012: a database analysis

et al. 2017

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“…An industry-wide study previously showed that the proportion of cross-border miners declined from 51% in the period 1973–1977 to 31% in the period 2008–2012 ( Ehrlich et al., 2017 ), very close to the findings in this study. Changes in political relations between South Africa and is neighbors, declining employment in competing sectors such as manufacturing, and changes in traditional mine wage policies were some of the forces underlying the turn to local South African national recruitment ( Yudelman and Jeeves, 1986 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Access of migrant gold miners to compensation for occupational lung disease: Quantifying a legacy of injustice

Ehrlich

Barker

Tsang

et al. 2021

Journal of Migration and Health

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Background A legacy of the South African gold mining industry, now in decline, is a large burden of silicosis and tuberculosis among former migrant miners from rural South Africa and surrounding countries, particularly Lesotho and Mozambique. This neglected population faces significant barriers in filing claims for compensation for occupational lung disease. The objective of the study was to gain insight into the extent of such barriers, particularly for former miners and cross-border migrants. Methods The database of a large gold mining company and the statutory compensation authority were analyzed for the period 1973–2018 by country of origin, age, and employment status at the time of claim filing. Proportions and odds ratios (ORs) for each of the compensable diseases were calculated by the above variables. Processing delays of claims were also calculated. Results Annual company employment declined from 240,718 in 1989 to 43,024 in 2018 and the proportion of cross-border migrants within the workforce from 51.0 to 28.1%. The compensation database contained 68,612 claims. The majority of compensable claims in all diagnostic categories were from active miners. The odds of cross-border miners relative to South African miners filing a claim depended on employment status. For example, the OR for Lesotho miners filing while in active employment was 1.86 (95% CI 1.81, 1.91), falling to 0.94 (95% CI 0.91, 0.98) among former miners. The equivalent findings for Mozambiquan miners were 0.95 (95% CI 0.91, 1.00), falling to 0.44 (95% CI 0.41, 0.47). Median processing delays over the whole period were from 1.1 years from filing to adjudication, and 3.8 years from filing to payment. Conclusions The findings provide a quantitative view of differential access to occupational lung disease compensation, including long processing delays, among groups of migrant miners from the South African gold mines. There is a deficit of compensable claims for silicosis and silico-tuberculosis among former miners irrespective of country of origin. While cross-border miner groups appear to file more claims while active, this is reversed once they leave employment. Current large-scale efforts to provide medical examinations and compensation justice to this migrant miner population need political and public support and scrutiny of progress.

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“…The South African context is critical to understanding the problem of employers' labour preferences. Yudelman and Jeeves (1986) show that over almost 100 years, South Africa's mining capitalists have tried to manipulate immigrant labour and frontiers (first trying to get Chinese workers in 1904 because local eastern Cape black workers were too 'cheeky' and then becoming entirely reliant on Eastern Cape workers only to shift to Mozambique and then Malawi and back again).…”

Section: South Africa In Context a Special Case?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Capital’s Preference for Foreign African Labour in South Africa: Reflections on Liberal Anti-xenophobia Research

Ruiters,

Uwimpuhwe

2024

CCS Journal

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In South Africa, in many economic sectors, foreign blacks are more likely to get a job than a similarly skilled black South African. This paper is about why employers prefer foreign African labour in South Africa, how this contributes to seeing South African black workers as inferior and how job hoarding networks in employment niches have emerged. We examine this in the context of literature on ‘xenophobia’. Both discursive and material practices of racist-ethnicist employers are significant. In a new hierarchy of fictive labour imaginaries which reflects a new labour ‘frontier’ in a diversified post-apartheid southern African pool. The new frontier reflects neoliberal flexible labour systems which also operate within a human rights free-market framework.

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New labour frontiers for old: black migrants to the South African gold mines, 1920–851

Cited by 31 publications

References 3 publications

Public health implications of changing patterns of recruitment into the South African mining industry, 1973–2012: a database analysis

Public health implications of changing patterns of recruitment into the South African mining industry, 1973–2012: a database analysis

Access of migrant gold miners to compensation for occupational lung disease: Quantifying a legacy of injustice

Capital’s Preference for Foreign African Labour in South Africa: Reflections on Liberal Anti-xenophobia Research

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