Daily news and daily bread : precarious employment in the newspaper distribution sector in Durban South Africa.

Abstract

The outsourcing of newspaper distribution seems to be a source of precarious employment for newspaper contractors and their employees. The labour market experiences of workers in precarious employment due to labour outsourcing have been a source of debate in the literature on the relationship between informal and formal work since the early 1970s. The three main theoretical schools that contribute to the debate include: dualism, structuralism and legalism. In an attempt to contribute to the debate, the research explored the effects of outsourcing newspaper distribution on the labour market experiences of newspaper distribution contractors and their employees in Durban. Structuralism and value chain analysis were used as theoretical frameworks since both give extensive attention to concepts such as labour outsourcing. The major finding from the research was that the interview respondents are exposed to precarious employment conditions irrespective of whether respondents were contracted or not due to outsourcing distribution in Durban. This is because the contractors and their employees experience the same degree of lack of employment benefits, employment security and severe working conditions.