A study of child labour with regard to Black newspaper vendors in the Cape Peninsula

• Main Author: Moerat, Fuad
• Other Authors: Tshabalala, Mandla
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2015
• Subjects: Newspaper vendors - South Africa - Cape Town; Children - Employment - South Africa - Cape Town; Social Planning and Social Administration
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14281

Bibliography : leaves 142-148. === The study was designed to investigate child labour with particular regard to Black newsvendors in the Cape Peninsula. Data was gathered from interviews with local organisations active in the field of child labour and the employment conditions of newsvendors, as well as a field study carried out in the Cape Peninsula. A review of local and international literature was also undertaken. A brief account of child labour in the Western Cape is given which provided the necessary backdrop to the study. The field study involved in-depth interviews with 52 Black newsvendors in the Cape Peninsula. This comprised interviews with the first available four newsvendors in each of the 13 areas in the Cape Peninsula in which newspapers are sold by vendors. Respondents completed an interview schedule administered by the researcher. The interview schedule furnished information on the employment conditions of newsvendors, their role as wage-earners, their education and training, their safety, health and welfare. Analysis of the data revealed that the majority of newsvendors worked as child labourers under deplorable working conditions. The findings demonstrated that young Black newsvendors comprised a pool of cheap and exploited labour. Their exploitation is evident in their deprivation of family life, of reasonable working hours, of time to pursue social and leisure interests as children, of a negotiated wage, of favourable working conditions, of dignity, of the acknowledgement of the value of their labour, of legal protection, of membership in an effective worker organisation, of further acquisition of knowledge and skills, of opportunities and scope for advancement. The findings reveal that young Black newsvendors work under conditions detrimental to their health, safety and welfare. Many young Black newsvendors who sell newspapers in the early hours of the morning often start to work without breakfast. They spend a considerable amount of time on the streets without any rest periods, leading to irregular mealtimes, while many survive on food of inferior nutritional value. These young newsvendors have to survive in occupational circumstances where robberies and assaults frequently occur. In these circumstances the peer group begins to play an important role. Young newsvendors are often induced to succumb to the influences of co-workers. The newsvendors in this study also expressed a deep sense of hopelessness and despondency about their own lives. Any prospects of a better future are seriously curtailed by the lack of formal education and industrial skills. The majority of the newsvendors said that they enjoyed going to school but had to leave in order to support the family income. The recommendations draw attention to the need for the improvement of working conditions, training and supportive services, but recognises that this is only possible once newsvendors are organised in an effective worker organisation.