Table of contents
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| 2.1. |
Introduction |
| 2.2. |
South Africa’s Demographic Challenge |
| |
2.2.1. |
The impact of HIV/AIDS |
| |
2.2.2. |
The apartheid labour-welfare nexus Governments affect income
distribution in indirect and direct ways.
|
| |
2.2.3. |
The impact of HIV/AIDS |
| 2.3. |
The importance of public transfers |
| |
2.3.1. |
Access to wage income |
| |
2.3.2. |
Wage inequality |
| 2.4. |
Changes in Inequality in the 1990s |
| |
2.4.1. |
Intra-racial inequalities |
| |
2.4.2. |
Unemployment during the post-apartheid period |
| |
2.4.3. |
The restructuring of employment |
| |
2.4.4. |
New evidence on poverty in South Africa |
| 2.5. |
The challenges of Post-apartheid social policy reform
|
| |
2.5.1. |
The old-age pension |
| |
2.5.2. |
Child support grants |
| |
2.5.3. |
The private sector |
| 2.6. |
Findings and Recommendations
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APPENDICES  - 29Kb < 1min (2 pages) |
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REFERENCES - 18Kb < 1min (3 pages) |
Complete Document - 122Kb ~ 1 min (28 pages) |
Introduction
South Africa’s social safety net has its roots in a set of apartheid labour and welfare policies that were racially biased and premised on full-employment. The last vestiges of state racial discrimination have subsequently been removed, but a key underlying principle of the old system remains in place, i.e. the assumption that those in the labour force can support themselves through work, and that unemployment is a temporary condition. Means-tested child-support grants and old- age pensions are now available to all on a non-discriminatory basis—but those who cannot find work (and who do not, or no longer, qualify for Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) payments) fall through a vast hole in the social safety net. The social security system needs to be adapted to fit this reality.
This chapter outlines an analysis of the socio-economic context within which the Committee of Inquiry formulates its recommendations for a reform of the social security system. It points to the changing nature of inequality in South Africa and shows that the current safety net needs adapting to suit today’s labour-surplus economy. Ideally, people should be able to earn a living through employment rather than rely on welfare transfers. The government’s macroeconomic strategy aims to push the economy onto a sustainable growth path that will generate jobs. However, given the apartheid backlogs, the size of the unemployment problem and the extent of the growth challenge, full-employment is not a feasible scenario in the short- to medium term. South Africa’s labour policies (which protect wages and promote skills development and productivity growth) must thus be accompanied by social policies that provide a social safety net or social protection for the unemployed, the marginalised and socially excluded.
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[Table of contents] |
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