In this chapter, the constitution of the retail sector in and around Johannesburg through the lab... more In this chapter, the constitution of the retail sector in and around Johannesburg through the labour of white women from the 1930s to the 1970s in service to a “white public” is examined. A gendered and racialized notion of service became central to directing expanding consumption under apartheid. Working-class white women organized into their union to contest poor conditions in stores, but a class identity became harder for them to maintain under apartheid. Their experiences were individualized, and they reproduced social hierarchies within shops while securing these spaces of consumption for their customers.
INTRODUCTION In public debate throughout 2011 and much of 2012, Wal-Mart's entry into South A... more INTRODUCTION In public debate throughout 2011 and much of 2012, Wal-Mart's entry into South Africa's economy sparked fierce debate. The Competition Tribunal and Competition Appeal Court processes became a match between the formidable US multinational – the world's largest private employer with some 2.1 million employees in fifteen countries2 – and what appeared to many as activist ministries within the state, fighting to uphold ‘public interest’ in its merger with Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed Massmart Holdings, Inc., trading as subsidiaries Game, Dion, Makro, Builder's Warehouse and Cambridge Foods, among others. South African unions, most notably the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu), with support from global union federation UNI Global and the US union the United Food and Commerical Workers (UFCW), put up a resolute defence against an uncomplicated and quick merger approval (Kenny 2012b). Wal-Mart/Massmart claimed to offer cheap goods to a growing middle and working class consumer base, and as such their ‘everyday low prices (EDLP)’ would bring the majority of South African consumers, previously excluded from consumption, into participation in this market. The chief executive officer (CEO) of Wal-Mart International, Doug McMillon, wrote in an op-ed in Business Day on 26 January 2011 that the company's ‘core mission – to save people money so they can live better’ would be its contribution to South Africa. He concluded, ‘Walmart looks forward to earning our credentials as a responsible and productive citizen of SA.’ But the protracted merger approval process was to belie any easy acceptance of Wal-Mart. In its report in February 2011, the Competition Commission recommended, in what can only be acknowledged as a political misstep, that the deal be approved with no conditions. When the Competition Tribunal in March and May of 2011 rolled around, the hearings had become the terrain of battle. The state's representatives, led by the minister of economic development, Ebrahim Patel, became increasingly frustrated with the merging parties’ unwillingness to provide information or come to informal agreement over conditions for the merger. The Departments of Economic Development (EDD), Trade and Industry (DTI) and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) were concerned about the effects of Wal-Mart's entry on South African manufacturing and agricultural jobs in the context of the power of this global buyer to import through its supply chain the most competitive commodities from around the world.
This chapter examines the US multinational Wal-Mart’s acquisition of South African listed Massmar... more This chapter examines the US multinational Wal-Mart’s acquisition of South African listed Massmart Holdings. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest private employer, is well known for wage theft, work intensification, eroded benefits, and anti-union practices. This chapter examines the current conjuncture of retailing in South Africa, with globalization of retail capital, supply chain management, corporate consolidation, and expansion into new working-class markets. The chapter explores how nation is now modelled in the market and through consumption and juxtaposes this to the low-wage service worker, employed through labour brokers and as general workers. It concludes by examining the reproduction of retail worker politics redefining abasebenzi, race, and skill in a fraying relationship of labour to nation.
This paper reviews the state of the South African labour movement. It discusses trade unions with... more This paper reviews the state of the South African labour movement. It discusses trade unions within the context of national political dynamics, including the Tripartite Alliance and neoliberalism, as well as growing precarianization of work within South Africa. It examines splits within the major federation and explores debates around union renewal and new worker organizations. It argues that the political terrain is fragmented and shifting, but workers’ collective labour politics abides.Este artigo analisa o estado do movimento sindical sul-africano. Discute os sindicatos no contexto da dinâmica política nacional, incluindo a Aliança Tripartite e o neoliberalismo, bem como a crescente pré-arianização do trabalho na África do Sul. Ele examina as divisões dentro da grande federação e explora os debates em torno da renovação sindical e das novas organizações de traba-lhadores. Argumenta-se que o terreno político é fragmentado e instável, mas a política coletiva de trabalho dos trabalh...
In this chapter, the constitution of the retail sector in and around Johannesburg through the lab... more In this chapter, the constitution of the retail sector in and around Johannesburg through the labour of white women from the 1930s to the 1970s in service to a “white public” is examined. A gendered and racialized notion of service became central to directing expanding consumption under apartheid. Working-class white women organized into their union to contest poor conditions in stores, but a class identity became harder for them to maintain under apartheid. Their experiences were individualized, and they reproduced social hierarchies within shops while securing these spaces of consumption for their customers.
INTRODUCTION In public debate throughout 2011 and much of 2012, Wal-Mart's entry into South A... more INTRODUCTION In public debate throughout 2011 and much of 2012, Wal-Mart's entry into South Africa's economy sparked fierce debate. The Competition Tribunal and Competition Appeal Court processes became a match between the formidable US multinational – the world's largest private employer with some 2.1 million employees in fifteen countries2 – and what appeared to many as activist ministries within the state, fighting to uphold ‘public interest’ in its merger with Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed Massmart Holdings, Inc., trading as subsidiaries Game, Dion, Makro, Builder's Warehouse and Cambridge Foods, among others. South African unions, most notably the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu), with support from global union federation UNI Global and the US union the United Food and Commerical Workers (UFCW), put up a resolute defence against an uncomplicated and quick merger approval (Kenny 2012b). Wal-Mart/Massmart claimed to offer cheap goods to a growing middle and working class consumer base, and as such their ‘everyday low prices (EDLP)’ would bring the majority of South African consumers, previously excluded from consumption, into participation in this market. The chief executive officer (CEO) of Wal-Mart International, Doug McMillon, wrote in an op-ed in Business Day on 26 January 2011 that the company's ‘core mission – to save people money so they can live better’ would be its contribution to South Africa. He concluded, ‘Walmart looks forward to earning our credentials as a responsible and productive citizen of SA.’ But the protracted merger approval process was to belie any easy acceptance of Wal-Mart. In its report in February 2011, the Competition Commission recommended, in what can only be acknowledged as a political misstep, that the deal be approved with no conditions. When the Competition Tribunal in March and May of 2011 rolled around, the hearings had become the terrain of battle. The state's representatives, led by the minister of economic development, Ebrahim Patel, became increasingly frustrated with the merging parties’ unwillingness to provide information or come to informal agreement over conditions for the merger. The Departments of Economic Development (EDD), Trade and Industry (DTI) and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) were concerned about the effects of Wal-Mart's entry on South African manufacturing and agricultural jobs in the context of the power of this global buyer to import through its supply chain the most competitive commodities from around the world.
This chapter examines the US multinational Wal-Mart’s acquisition of South African listed Massmar... more This chapter examines the US multinational Wal-Mart’s acquisition of South African listed Massmart Holdings. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest private employer, is well known for wage theft, work intensification, eroded benefits, and anti-union practices. This chapter examines the current conjuncture of retailing in South Africa, with globalization of retail capital, supply chain management, corporate consolidation, and expansion into new working-class markets. The chapter explores how nation is now modelled in the market and through consumption and juxtaposes this to the low-wage service worker, employed through labour brokers and as general workers. It concludes by examining the reproduction of retail worker politics redefining abasebenzi, race, and skill in a fraying relationship of labour to nation.
This paper reviews the state of the South African labour movement. It discusses trade unions with... more This paper reviews the state of the South African labour movement. It discusses trade unions within the context of national political dynamics, including the Tripartite Alliance and neoliberalism, as well as growing precarianization of work within South Africa. It examines splits within the major federation and explores debates around union renewal and new worker organizations. It argues that the political terrain is fragmented and shifting, but workers’ collective labour politics abides.Este artigo analisa o estado do movimento sindical sul-africano. Discute os sindicatos no contexto da dinâmica política nacional, incluindo a Aliança Tripartite e o neoliberalismo, bem como a crescente pré-arianização do trabalho na África do Sul. Ele examina as divisões dentro da grande federação e explora os debates em torno da renovação sindical e das novas organizações de traba-lhadores. Argumenta-se que o terreno político é fragmentado e instável, mas a política coletiva de trabalho dos trabalh...
Retail Worker Politics, Race and Consumption in South Africa: Shelved in the Service Economy, 2018
This book argues that we need to focus attention on the ways that workers themselves have investe... more This book argues that we need to focus attention on the ways that workers themselves have invested subjectively in what it means to be a worker. By doing so, we gain an explanation that moves us beyond the economic decisions made by actors, the institutional constraints faced by trade unions, or the power of the state to interpellate subjects. These more common explanations make workers and their politics visible only as a symptom of external conditions, a response to deregulated markets or a product of state recognition. Instead – through a history of retailing as a site of nation and belonging, changing legal regimes, and articulations of race, class and gender in the constitution of political subjects from the 1930s to present-day Wal-Mart – this book presents the experiences and subjectivities of workers themselves to show that the collective political subject ‘workers’ (abasebenzi) is both a durable and malleable political category. From white to black women’s labour, the forms of precariousness have changed within retailing in South Africa. Workers’ struggles in different times have in turn resolved some dilemmas and by other turn generated new categories and conditions of precariousness, all the while explaining enduring attachments to labour politics.
We are happy to announce the new project of our working group "Workplaces: Pasts and Presents." A... more We are happy to announce the new project of our working group "Workplaces: Pasts and Presents." After our blog series "Factory Reloaded," and our podcast series "Workplace Matters," we are now moving into the realm of digital humanities to explore the historical and contemporary dynamics of capitalism at the point of production. This project brings together international scholars in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Argentina, Turkey, South Africa, and Bangladesh to investigate, in a collaborative and interdisciplinary way, the past and present of the workplace. We are especially concerned to move across the divides between the global North and South, between different disciplines, and between different methods and orientations. The project draws on a range of methodologies and on tools in the digital humanities and social sciences to archive, curate, and disseminate our results and findings to audiences of students, scholars, activists, and the general public. We welcome communication, especially offers to share research, collaborate, and exchange ideas.
We are pleased to introduce the inaugural episode of our podcast, Workplace Matters. The podcast ... more We are pleased to introduce the inaugural episode of our podcast, Workplace Matters. The podcast provides interdisciplinary perspectives on the workplace by bringing together scholars with research projects on labour, work, and space. The project draws on a range of disciplinary methodologies and on the tools of digital humanities and social sciences to archive, curate, and disseminate the results to audiences of students, scholars, activists, and the general public.
We invite proposals for exhibits for our website https://workplaces.omeka.net. Please send a maxi... more We invite proposals for exhibits for our website https://workplaces.omeka.net. Please send a maximum 300 word abstract and sample images, videos, sounds or other multimedia for your proposal to rick.halpern@utoronto.ca The proposal should include your name, surname, current affiliation and contact details
International Labor and Working-Class History, 2023
From the nineteenth century, when the new social question of women's factory labor came to preocc... more From the nineteenth century, when the new social question of women's factory labor came to preoccupy the (middle-class) public imagination, to the present times of globalized labor chains, discourses on gendered labor have been at once fluid and constitutive of labor hierarchies. These discourses and social relations affirm their centrality within processes of industrialization and workplace restructuring as well as in development policy, urban formation, and indeed, nation building. Depending on the political economy of the labor market, the images of laboring women accordingly oscillated between, for instance, helpless and exploited victims to national heroines in the service of developmental projects. At the same time, since the early nineteenth-century, the steadily accumulating social reform, labor inspection, or social scientific accounts of women's paid and unpaid labor testified to states’ and employers’ growing comfort with hiring what was and is still, in many ways, a cheap, easily exploitable category of workers, one whose profitability increased the more precarious their employment became. Such discourses and labor control practices were deeply racialized and classed. On the other side of the public imagination and employer's surveillance, women who engaged in paid work sometimes appropriated the discourses and reshaped the practices that were used to characterize their labor and judge their choices.
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proposal to rick.halpern@utoronto.ca The proposal should include your name, surname, current affiliation and contact details