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1. Working Conditions in Madagascar’s Apparel Industry: Comparing Export and Domestic Market Firms

Author:
Kristoffer Marslev and Lindsay Whitfield
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Business and Development Studies (CBDS), Copenhagen Business School
Abstract:
The apparel export industry in Madagascar is one of the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa, yet limited data exists on the conditions of its 180,000 predominantly female workers. This paper draws on new ILO quantitative and qualitative data generated in 2021 and 2022 to provide a systematic mapping of wages and working conditions in Madagascar’s apparel industry. The analysis shows important variations by end market. While workers in export firms are more likely to do excessive overtime and have inadequate rest time, they earn higher wages and enjoy better social protections such as paid leave, insurance, pension, and maternity. In contrast, nearly half of workers in firms producing for the domestic market earn incomes below the national minimum wage and have limited social benefits. These findings point to a paradox in which workers in export firms are more exploited in terms of their labor power but better off in terms of wages and benefits. The paper attributes these differences to the governance dynamics of global apparel supply chains, in which buyers on the one hand require suppliers to meet certain social standards and to comply with domestic labor laws, but on the other hand impose high flexibility demands that incentivize excessive overtime and work intensification. In both export and domestic market firms, however, wages fall severely below living wage benchmarks. In the context of high levels of absolute poverty in Madagascar and even lower incomes in agriculture, there is not much upwards pressure on wages and working conditions from the labor market.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Global Value Chains, Labor Market, Wages, Garment Industry, Work, and Apparel
Political Geography:
Africa and Madagascar

2. Working for Safety: The Community Work Programme as a Tool for Preventing Violence and Building Safer Communities

Author:
David Bruce
Publication Date:
09-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This policy brief draws on research conducted by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) on the Community Work Programme (CWP), a public employment initiative. It discusses the ways in which the CWP has been used to address crime. It recommends several ways that the CWP can best be used as a violence prevention tool.
Topic:
Crime, Employment, Work, and Violence Prevention
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

3. The Community Work Programme in Grabouw

Author:
Zukiswa Puwana
Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This report is based on research carried out by Zukiswa Puwana in the town of Grabouw (in the Western Cape) in late 2014. It focuses on the Community Work Programme (CWP), a public employment initiative, and the programme's social impact in the town. It discusses research findings on the effect of the CWP on social cohesion, social capital, gender and power relations in Grabouw.
Topic:
Employment, Social Cohesion, Social Capital, Gender, and Work
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

4. Building a Good Nation in Manenberg: A Case Study of the Manenberg Community Work Programme

Author:
Fairuz Mullagee and David Bruce
Publication Date:
08-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This report draws on fieldwork conducted in Manenberg (in Cape Town) in early 2014. It discusses how the Community Work Programme (CWP), a public employment initiative, has impacted on relationships between community members, as well as between communities and governance structures in Manenberg. The report is one of six community case studies conducted by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) to investigate the effects of the CWP on violence prevention and social cohesion.
Topic:
Governance, Employment, Social Cohesion, Work, and Violence Prevention
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

5. The Impact of the Community Work Programme on Violence in Orange Farm

Author:
Malose Langa
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This report is based on primary research carried out in Orange Farm (a township in Johannesburg) in 2014. It discusses the social impact of the Community Work Programme (CWP), a public employment initiative, in Orange Farm. The report contains discussion on background information about the community of Orange Farm as well as key findings of the fieldwork, including the CWP projects undertaken in Orange Farm and their impact in promoting social and civic cohesion and reducing urban violence.
Topic:
Employment, Social Cohesion, Community, Work, and Violence Prevention
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

6. A Follow-Up Report on the Community Work Programme in Bokfontein

Author:
Malose Langa
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This report is based on primary research carried out by Malose Langa in Bokfontein (in the North West) in May 2014, and forms part of a broader study on the impact of the Community Work Program (CWP), a public employment initiative, on violence prevention. The aim of this research was to monitor how things have changed in Bokfontein since Langa's field work there in 2010, which at the time, concluded that the CWP played a key role in preventing intracommunity violence as well as violence related to community protests and xenophobic attacks.
Topic:
Employment, Community, Work, and Violence Prevention
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

7. A Case Study of the Ivory Park Community Work Programme

Author:
Themba Masuku
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This report is based on primary research which was conducted in Ivory Park (a township in Johannesburg) between June and September 2014. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the Community Work Programme (CWP), a public employment initiative, on violence prevention and social cohesion in the area.
Topic:
Employment, Social Cohesion, Community, Work, and Violence Prevention
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

8. Public Transfers and Subsistence Producer Disincentives in Botswana

Author:
Tebogo B. Seleka and Khaufelo R. Lekobane
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
Abstract:
This paper investigates the disincentive effects of public transfers on subsistence producers in Botswana. Comparative statics analyses indicate that public transfers would not affect farm production when profit and utility maximization decisions are recursive, with the profit maximization decision made first. However, when such decisions are interdependent, public transfers would lead to a reduction in farm output. Empirical results reveal that social pensions have impacted positively on cultivated area, but have had no impact on cereal yields and output. However, government food rations have impacted adversely on cultivated area, yields and output; they are a disincentive to crop production because they are relatively more sizable, consistent and certain. This, it is argued, is because food packages are directly substitutable for subsistence crop production. Therefore, public policy in Botswana should consider moving away from food to cash transfers to minimize such disincentive effects.
Topic:
Agriculture, Welfare, Safety Net, Work, and Public Transfers
Political Geography:
Africa and Botswana