Realities of the South African Worker by Allaire Guralnik

The South African worker is a broad term that includes the many men and women who are the driving forces behind change in their country. The worker includes aspects of South Africa’s past, present and future society. The South African worker is not involved in any one simple profession, but he or she can be defined as an individual who is a mixture of work ethic, motivation and drive for change and new opportunities among a diverse population.

Throughout our time here in South Africa, we have come into contact with people we perceive as conventional workers: hotel staff, tour guides, shopkeepers, waiters, busboys, maids, market stall workers, political activists, and many more. But these are not the only people who are working hard in South Africa. The people who fought to end apartheid and went to jail on Robben Island were self-employed workers towards the common goal of equality among all races in this country. The beggar on the street is working for his or her own survival each day. The volunteers in a hospital, counseling center or school are not paid employees, but are working hard towards helping an important cause. Religious leaders are workers for humanity, and trying to inspire hope in South Africans. They are working to instill a belief in God, and help them to form a positive outlook on life that will help them to solve the many issues plaguing this country. Artists of all kinds, whether he or she is a singer, actor or writer, are working to educate people inside and outside of South Africa. Artistic works show the world the appalling history of the country, the current issues facing South Africa, or highlights changes that need to be made to ensure a brighter future for the people.

We have also been able to observe the realities of how frustrating it is to be a worker in this country, where unemployment rates are approximately 50%. This startling rate is unfortunately even higher in the impoverished communities throughout South Africa. In most of the townships, the majority of native residents and immigrants from other nations are unemployed. We saw firsthand during many of our tours around the Langa and Khayelitsha townships surrounding Cape Town the many people waiting on the side of the road for work to find them. These men and women wait for hours every morning for their only opportunity—for someone to pick them up with a job for the day.

Many other South Africans have limited options for their careers. During the apartheid era it was not possible for individuals classified as “coloured” or “black” to work in many professions, particularly in the tourism industry. Before 1994, the government wanted to protect tourists from the truth of the extreme inequalities associated with the apartheid regime. Our two tour guides from Cape Town, Calvin and Donald, were able to provide us with a firsthand view of life growing up and working as “coloured” men during the years of apartheid. Today, both of them seem to be extremely proud to do what they do—to be able to educate foreigners about South African geography, culture and history. During apartheid, to support their families, many men from tribal reserves were brought into the cities to work as laborers in tough industries such as mining. Mark Mathabane’s autobiography, Kaffir Boy, discusses the difficulties of the South African worker; seen with the complexities of keeping a passbook in order and the danger of being brutally arrested. Men were often arrested and put into jail for unemployment, supposedly “one of the worst crimes a man could commit,” but this was just a way of life, and money was often spent on police bribes.

In the late 1990’s, many South Africans completely switched their professions since a plethora of new employment opportunities were becoming available to coloureds and blacks. An older reporter I spoke with during my internship at the Cape Argus newspaper told me of his career moves from newspaper printer, to driver to, his ultimate dream, a journalist at the age of 45. However, many South Africans still do not feel confident or empowered enough to aim for their career goals. Many youth in the townships see their peers and parents working in places like a Pick-n-Pay, a grocery store chain, as the best job possible and thus only aspire to do the same. This is the normal progression of their communities because that is all they see. The few individuals who become success stories rarely come back to their hometowns to act as role models to younger generations. Many young South Africans do not realize their full potential because they never see anyone close to them actually succeed in gaining a higher education and a decent job. But change is somewhat close for some as the professional playing field is finally beginning to level for young South Africans who have grown up in a post-apartheid era

The cruel system of apartheid has created layers upon layers of complications for the currently troubled society and struggling economy in South Africa. Many families and people in South Africa live as “hand-to-mouth” workers, relying on what they make each day or week to provide for their families. This system is no way to live, especially in a country where there is constantly high competition for limited jobs. Unemployment cannot be addressed easily, since the issue is entirely too complex for a simple solution. Education, or rather lack of education, is a large proponent of why so many people are unable to find work. For South Africa to solve problems of unemployment, the nation needs to take a serious look at their internal infrastructure in order to reform the struggling population. Too many middle-aged South Africans were never able to receive a proper education during the binding times of apartheid. These men and women are now left with no option for formal education and thus a shrinking chance to achieve their professional goals.

The key challenge of creating more jobs in South Africa is how to improve high-level skills among the workers. The unemployed, and financially struggling population will never be able to be properly trained for these positions without a basic education. As with many problems within the current South African government, progress is too slow for the growing needs that must be met.

The reality of the South African worker is intimidating and beyond a comparable challenge to many of us, but it is real life for many people. The economy and social culture is in desperate need of reform so the South African worker and all of South Africa will eventually be able to thrive.