Browsing by Author "Tame, Bianca"
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- ItemOpen AccessExploring the impact of South Africa's immigration policy (2000-to 2006) on the medical doctors' shortage—a critical realist perspective(2021) Zhou, Yiying; Tame, BiancaSouth Africa is facing a severe shortage of medical doctors and has a government that is sceptical of reliance of foreign skills known as skilled immigration. The government and the national Department of Health (DoH) have implemented a variety of intervention measures in order to alleviate the negative impact of this shortage caused by medical skills shortage in the sector. However, the DoH's reluctance to recruit foreign medical doctors, and particularly its prohibition on the recruitment of doctors from South Africa's neighbouring countries, undermines the government's effort to increase the number of doctors in the health system. Skilled immigration, the importation of scarce skills from outside the country, made little progress with the enactment of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002. The priority of South Africa's immigration policy is still focused on controlling skilled immigration, as is underlined by its protectionism and restrictiveness. The Department of Home Affairs' (DHA) immigration policy and its counterproductive approach to attracting skilled foreign labour has drawn criticism from a wide range of people including academics, politicians and businesspeople. The DHA itself has in its white papers of 1999 and of 2017 admitted that its inflexible approach to immigration has resulted in the country's failure to attract skilled foreign workers. In this study, I use archived parliamentary meeting minutes and parliamentary documents as the primary data source to understand the deliberations of stakeholders on skilled immigration which resulted in the Immigration Act 13 of 2002. The Act had a direct effect on the DoH's approach to the recruitment of foreign medical doctors. More specifically, this dissertation aims to explore how stakeholders who were involved in the drafting process of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 deliberated on the existing cultural and structural conditions that resulted in the Immigration Bill which preceded the Act. By exploring the changes in the immigration policy, the dissertation aims to understand the impact of the immigration policy and institutional xenophobia on the recruitment of foreign doctors. Margaret Archer's (1995) morphogenetic/morphostatic cycle is used to understand the development of South Africa's immigration policy from 2000 to 2006 as this was the period in which the discussion of the Immigration Bill started. I argue that institutional xenophobia which is manifested in South Africans' antagonism towards foreign nationals, the deeply-entrenched employment equity policy that promotes national workers, the weakened state of the civil society, and the consolidated power of the government in decision-making all contributed to the DoH's decision to restrict the recruitment of foreign medical doctors. In the absence of government's support, it is unlikely that there will be a conducive environment to put in place a skilled immigration policy that can harness skilled foreigners' skills and facilitate skilled foreigners' entry. This dissertation suggests that the government critically review its immigration policy which is deepening South Africa's skills gap in the medical field. This dissertation further recommends the government to consider the option of allowing foreign doctors to work in the private sector. This would not only increase the overall number of doctors in the health sector, it would also dispel the public's concern that the employment of foreign doctors would cost a hefty amount at the expense of the public.
- ItemOpen AccessFrom Level 5 to Level 3 Lockdown: The Work Experiences and Employment Relationships of Domestic Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Africa(2023) Zanazo, Zukiswa; Tame, BiancaThis study explores the work experiences of domestic workers in the Western Cape during levels 5, 4 and 3 of the lockdowns in 2020. The aim of this research was to discover how the lockdowns affected domestic workers' working conditions and employment relationships. The research adopted a qualitative research design that used in-depth, semi-structured interviews with South African and migrant domestic workers. Since this study focused on the employment relationship and working conditions of domestic workers, theoretical concepts such as reproductive labour, boundary work and precarity were used. The study found that the COVID19 pandemic exposed domestic workers to heightened precarity in working arrangements, with employers exercising control over domestic workers' minds, bodies and voices. In terms of the employment relationship, domestic workers experienced personalism with some form of distant hierarchy before the pandemic and experienced distant hierarchy in the form of physical and social distancing during the pandemic, as perceived carriers of COVID-19. In addition, domestic workers experienced control over their minds (uncertainty related to job security and their health), their bodies (limited or no control over decisions regarding COVID-19-related protocols in their workplaces plus intensified workload) and their voices (inability to express grievances regarding working conditions and their right to a safe working environment). This study therefore argues that domestic workers had to endure precarious working conditions because the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated job insecurity in the domestic sector, making them vulnerable to employers' demands. This study concludes that the longstanding challenge of compliance with legislation and informality in the domestic sector entrenches domestic workers' precariousness. While the majority of employers in this study were partially compliant (for example, granting leave and paying a minimum wage), domestic workers feared losing their jobs because they had never signed an employment contract with their employers nor were registered for UIF. This study advocates that government should devise methods to improve labour regulation in the domestic sector and enforce labour compliance among employers to improve domestic workers' situation, especially against unforeseen economic or health crisis.
- ItemOpen AccessInvisible Students: An Exploration of Refugee Students' Experiences at a Higher Education Institution(2022) Kenney, Mia Amanda; Tame, BiancaThis study explores refugee students' experiences at the University of Cape Town (UCT). The study aims to provide an understanding of the challenges faced by this group of students, focusing on their experiences of refugee identity and institutional culture, in order to explore ways of adequately supporting refugee students within higher education institutions. The study utilises an exploratory single case study and a qualitative research design based on in-depth interviews with UCT refugee students, supplemented by institutional document analysis. The data was analysed using the conceptual framework of refugee identity, institutional culture, and the challenges refugees face within higher education. The study found that refugee students at UCT experience a sense of invisibility and precariousness within the institution. The study argues that refugee students are not fully acknowledged by the institution. This sense of invisibility influences their experience of the practical, academic, financial, and social support that the students receive. In addition, the study argues that refugee students are challenged by a forced upon refugee identity and label which has resultant emotional effects on the individuals' sense of self. The refugee label highlights a fragile and dichotomous state of being both invisible within a higher education institution and for some desiring to remain invisible given the negative connotations associated with the label. In order for refugee students to be adequately supported within a university, this study found and proposes that differentiated treatment, such as a team dedicated to supporting refugee students instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, is key for supporting the needs and requirements of refugee students.
- ItemOpen AccessRecovery as Human Development: An assessment of the Streetscapes community-based rehabilitation programme(2022) Bissolati, Chadley; Tame, Bianca; De Wet, JacquesThis study explores the experiences of previously homeless substance abusers who are part of Streetscapes, a community-based rehabilitation programme based in Cape Town, South Africa. The study aims to propose a different way of viewing addiction and recovery, where the focus is on the promotion of self-reliance and meeting people's needs in ways that are more holistic. The study was informed by a single case study design, which utilised qualitative research methods that included in-depth semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Data was analysed using the framework of Max-Neef's Human Scale Development (HSD) to conduct a needs-satisfier analysis of the programme from the perspective of its beneficiaries. The key findings indicate that participants are able to satisfy significantly more fundamental human needs (FHNs) as part of the Streetscapes programme, compared to when they were living on the street. More importantly, noticeably more synergic satisfiers were observed after joining the programme, thus highlighting Streetscapes' ability to foster self-reliance amongst its beneficiaries. The findings also revealed key challenges that need to be overcome to further promote self-reliance. The study argues that the promotion of self-reliance plays a major role with regards to one's recovery efforts. By focusing on the way in which people meet their FHNs, programmes are able to identify how their efforts provide opportunities for beneficiaries to satisfy their needs in ways that either promote or inhibit self-reliance. Thus, it is argued that an assessment of the Streetscapes programme from the perspective of beneficiaries' ability to meet their FHNs may allow it to be more effective in facilitating the process of recovery and promoting self-reliance amongst its beneficiaries. This research makes a contribution to debates in the literature about addiction, interventions for human development and recovery in relation to self-reliance, as well as the value of Max-Neef's Human Scale Development in the analysis of programmes and interventions aimed at helping homeless substance abusers.
- ItemOpen AccessShining a Light: A Single Case Study of Shine Literacy and the Implementation of their Literacy Interventions During the COVID-19 Pandemic(2023) Houliston, Kate; Tame, BiancaThis qualitative empirical study is a single case study which considers how the implementation of literacy programmes run by Shine Literacy were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021. The pandemic necessitated a rapid re-imagining of Shine Literacy's programmes and presented the opportunity for Shine to critically reflect on their interventions. The findings show that the disruption challenged Shine to implement literacy learning in more inclusive and equitable ways, particularly in their recognition of South Africa's stark digital divide. This research incorporated documentary analysis with semi-structured interviews to better comprehend the nuances of the role played by NGOs during the pandemic. The theoretical framework incorporates a socio-cultural approach to literacy and Epstein's (2009) framework which speaks to the overlapping nature of the three spheres of influence in children's education: schools, families, and communities. This study highlights the integral role played by caregivers in literacy learning and accounts for the heterogenous learning experiences of learners during school closures. The implementation of Shine's altered literacy interventions positioned the home as a pedagogical site and caregivers as co-educators. This shift in approach to literacy is both crucial and significant in light of school closures during the pandemic, where a departure from exclusively valuing school-based education was necessary. Based on the findings of how Shine continued to facilitate Foundation Phase literacy learning in households during the pandemic, this study presents a framework of reflection, adaptation, and collaboration (RAC). When framed through the lens of the RAC framework, Shine's model of literacy during the pandemic, which not only increased in scope but generated a model of intervention that was better aligned with the needs of their beneficiaries, shows immense transformative potential as an organisation. This study presents the optimistic perspective that Shine Literacy's transformative potential could serve as an encouraging example to other stakeholders in education. Thinking of literacy in more inclusive and equitable ways has the potential to extend beyond Shine and the pandemic, perhaps even to the low literacy levels and long-standing educational inequalities in South Africa.
- ItemOpen AccessSingle Mother, Migrant Domestic Workers: Exploring the coping experience of low-income Zimbabwean women raising their children in South Africa(2022) Johnson, Madeline Jane; Tame, BiancaZimbabweans are the largest migrant group in South Africa, and many of them are women who end up working informally as domestic workers (DWs). This study investigated the way that Zimbabwean single mother migrant domestic workers (MDWs) experience and cope with the burden of care. Specifically, it looks at women who have decided at some point in their migrancy experience to bring their children to raise in South Africa. The purpose of this research was to understand how they are managing to care for their children given their circumstances, and why they have chosen to do so as a family unit in South Africa rather than mothering from a distance - the norm as shown in international and Southern African migration literature on DWs. Due to financial troubles and social isolation associated with migrancy, single motherhood, and domestic work, their ability to cope with the burden of care is limited. This study is rooted in the theory that mothering in not a universal path, and that every woman will approach it differently based on her own familial, financial, cultural, racial, and personal circumstances that determine how she is able to practice mothering. This was a qualitative study and data was gathered via semi-structured, in depth interviews from a purposively-snowballed population sample of 13 women. This study found that the support networks of Zimbabwean single mother MDWs are actually quite limited, contrary to the existing literature base which highlights social support in migrant coping experiences. The social support that they receive - such as emotional support and/or informally compensated reciprocal child-watching arrangements - relieves some burden, but is insufficient, thus their childcare options are insufficient. Their coping mechanisms are primarily emotion focused, individual activities to tolerate their hardships, such as crying or listening to gospel music, because there are no practical solutions at this time. Choosing to bring their children to South Africa is a coping mechanism in itself which aims to reduce expenses associated with remittance and to alleviate the pain of family separation. Their deviation from the traditional Southern-African migrant norm of mothering from a distance indicates the possibility of evolving notions of motherhood and family in migrant and single parent contexts, as women follow their own individual paths in facing their unique circumstances of the burden of care. The findings of this study have serious implications for family and child welfare. Understanding single mother migration patterns is very important, and research in this area, like this study, may someday be able to inform policy, guide NGOs, and help to generate solutions for women facing a disproportionate burden of care.
- ItemOpen AccessUnderstanding the shift from permanent employment to contract work among retail workers who accepted voluntary retrenchment packages in 2017(2022) Andrews, Lorenzo Daniel; Tame, BiancaCost saving strategies gained prominence in South Africa's retail sector when the Multinational Corporation (MNC) Walmart entered South African retail industry through the Walmart/Massmart Merger in 2011. Retail companies such as Pick n Pay (PnP) adopted workplace-restructuring strategies to maintain a competitive edge in the retail sector. This study draws attention to the effect of the cost saving strategies such as VRPs, and labour brokers in the workplace. This research explores the experience of retail workers who took voluntary retrenchment package (VRP) in 2017 and then returned to the same workplace as contract workers through labour brokers. This study specifically focuses on the experience of the transition from being a permanent worker with access to various employment benefits to a contract worker without access to typical benefits associated with industrial citizenship. The study adopted a qualitative research design with 10 semi-structured interviews. Using the worlds of work model and the concept industrial citizenship for analysis, this study finds that workplace restructuring strategies have led to the erosion of workers' industrial citizenship rights and has given rise to high levels of precarious working conditions. This illustrates that despite access to information sessions organised by PnP, workers were not adequately prepared for post-work life especially where finances were concerned. Due to their age, limited skills set for jobs outside the retail sector which affected their employability and the fact that they could not maintain their household needs after taking the VRP, workers returned to the same workplace as contract workers. This study finds that workers had a negative experience when they returned to their former workplace as casual workers because employment through labour brokers takes the employment accountability away from the company even though the worker is physically working under the PnP brand. Due to their long service at PnP, workers experienced the transition from being a permanent to contract worker in two ways. Firstly, by noting the erosion of industrial citizenship rights in their workplace. For example, workers experienced precarious conditions such as unfair dismissal, irregular and long working hours, less wages and received no employment benefits nor trade union representation. Secondly, by noting that there was a major shift from the traditional family-owned management style that made them feel like they were part of a family in previous years, to a corporate business set up that made them feel marginalized and unrepresented by trade unions.
- ItemOpen Access'We are actually raising South Africans''. Raising immigrant families: The parenting experiences of Zimbabweans in South Africa(2019) Finos, Shuvai T.; Tame, BiancaSouth Africa is the most popular international destination for Zimbabwean migrants escaping the economic crisis of their country. It has been estimated that by 2016, one and a half million Zimbabwean nationals were living in South Africa. However, little research explores the lived experience of Zimbabweans in South Africa in the context of family. This is despite scholars highlighting an increase in family migration from Zimbabwe to South Africa in recent years. This study explores the parenting experiences of immigrant Zimbabwean parents raising their children in South Africa. Specifically, it investigates the ways in which raising children in a different country and cultural context influences parents’ understanding of and approaches to parenting. Nine Zimbabwean mothers and fathers living with their spouses and children in Cape Town participated in a qualitative study, with semi-structured interviews. Data was collected and analysed using thematic analysis. The study found that the participants’ overarching experience of parenting was that they were ultimately raising ‘South Africans’. Participants framed their children’s ‘South African-ness’ positively, identifying the children as cosmopolitan and empowered, which they celebrated. However, they also lamented the children’s loss of identity as the most problematic aspect of ‘South African-ness’. To navigate the resultant tensions, participants relaxed some of their existing beliefs while simultaneously implementing measures to reinforce some non-negotiable values and beliefs in their children. This dissertation argues that while parents’ understanding of parenting is strongly rooted in their cultural background and values, they adapt their parenting styles and practices according to what they calculate will enable their families to thrive. The study adds to the body of knowledge on immigrant Zimbabwean families who have become part of South African society. This is especially relevant in light of the South African government’s laudable initiatives towards regularising the stay of Zimbabweans in South Africa, such as the Dispensation of Zimbabweans Project (DZP) of 2009 and its successive permits. This study can therefore contribute to the body of knowledge that informs the ways in which South Africa can continue to respond to the reality of migration from Zimbabwe.
- ItemOpen AccessWomen of Hangberg: An Explorative Study of Empowerment and Agency(2020) Akerstedt, Ida; Tame, BiancaWomen's empowerment is considered a key driver for social change and an important development objective. Empowerment describes as a process in which women gain the ability to redefine gender roles and the ability to extend possibilities for being and doing. This includes resources and active agency. Despite this, research is limited in scope and geography. Measures to assess empowerment in the development sector often focus on evident forms of agency that do not reflect local meanings of the concept. In South Africa, studies of empowerment are primarily limited to women's decision-making within the household or in their reproductive roles. While many scholarly texts showcase the importance of women practicing their agency for the survival of their households and local communities, few investigate women's own experiences. As such, this thesis aims to raise the importance of women's empowerment in the field of development and to add to understanding of gender in South Africa through ethnographic research methods. Ethnographic research focus on describing and understanding, rather than explaining phenomena. Through semi-structured interviews and participant observations, I explore the ways in which seven women in their local community of Hangberg exercise their agency to develop the community, and the empowerment outcomes of such work. I find that engaging in development activities has realised a proliferation of outcomes relevant to empowerment among the women participants. This includes better intra-household relations, cooperation, wellbeing, and sense of purpose. The women participants see themselves as empowered women who attribute their own personal growth to participating in the development of their community. Furthermore, I find that women actively exercise their agency in response to social, economic and political change. In this, the women participants are exemplars of an alternative ‘solution' to overcoming social and economic despair in their community. At the same time, their empowerment and agency remain limited in terms of levels and reach. The women participants are not able to overcome the broader economic, social and political structures that shape their lives. They remain poised precariously between economic uncertainty and responsibilities of care.
- ItemOpen AccessWorking on-demand in the domestic sector: A case study on the experiences of platform domestic work in Cape Town(2022) Nhleko, Tengetile Wamkelwe; Tame, BiancaThere is a growing presence of platform companies of the gig economy that are providing platform domestic work in South Africa, more specifically cleaning services. In the platform domestic work model, the provision of domestic service is now undertaken on an on-demand basis and is organized and structured virtually though an online platform or ‘app' provided and managed by private technology companies or platform companies. Platform companies in the sector are part of the wider shift towards the modernization of domestic work through commercialization by private, for-profit companies. Using an interpretivist case study approach, this study sought to understand domestic workers' motivations for becoming platform domestic workers, their experiences of the job and the ways in which the platform domestic work model is structured and executed. This study is based on in-depth qualitative interviews with ten platform domestic workers in Cape Town, and a document analysis of public interviews and published company materials about their platform company SweepSouth. Findings in this study were analysed using a labour process theory lens that is based on the permissive-power framework of platform work governance by Vallas and Schor (2020). This study finds that the commercialization of domestic work through the gig economy addresses unemployment in the domestic sector by allowing workers easy and reliable access to a regular supply of jobs through digital platforms. However, it does not overcome underemployment in the sector, which prompts workers to seek additional work outside the digital platform. Platform leakage, a phenomenon whereby platform workers and platform customers transact outside of the platform following their initial service interaction on the platform, was found to be a common occurrence among platform domestic workers in this case study. Platform leakage shows that domestic workers approach the platform as a networking tool to gain access to regular cleaning work with clients on and off the platform, and to also gain access to more favourable work opportunities once matched to desirable clients on the platform. This study also found that working on-demand as a platform domestic worker is a highly insecure form of work. Platform domestic workers experience intensified levels of commodification on the platform and a market despotism in the regulation of their labour effort. Managerial control over platform domestic workers' labor is exercised indirectly and from a distance, through the practice of management-by-customers and the algorithmic surveillance and monitoring of work and productivity on the platform. This affords the platform immensely consequential “permissive power” over workers and the platform domestic work labor process. This study argues that the gig economy and gig work as an externally driven force of modernization in the domestic sector leads to the severe commodification of domestic workers. There is a need for a worker-led and or negotiated gig economy transformation of the domestic sector that empowers platform domestic workers and guarantees their access to rights and labour protections as workers.