Wage Effects of Unions and Industrial Councils in South Africa
In South Africa, unions which played a crucial in the country's transition from apartheid, are coming under fire. Some argue that a high union wage premium, and the industrial council system are important causes of inflexibility in South Afric...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2001/01/1089593/wage-effects-unions-industrial-councils-south-africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19728 |
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okr-10986-197282021-04-23T14:03:44Z Wage Effects of Unions and Industrial Councils in South Africa Butcher, Kristin F. Rouse, Cecilia Elena AREA CENTER COLLECTIVE BARGAINING CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT EMPLOYERS EMPLOYMENT EXPLOITATION HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT HUMAN RESOURCES HUMAN RESOURCES INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS INTERSECT LABOR FORCE LABOR MARKET LABOUR RELATIONS LAWS LEGISLATION MINIMUM WAGES OCCUPATION POLICIES TRADE UNIONS UNEMPLOYMENT UNION UNIONIZATION UNIONS WAGES WORKERS In South Africa, unions which played a crucial in the country's transition from apartheid, are coming under fire. Some argue that a high union wage premium, and the industrial council system are important causes of inflexibility in South Africa's labor market. The authors analyze unions' direct effect on workers' wages (including the time-honored question about whether the union wage gap is real, or reflects the fact that workers who are members of unions, differ from those who are not), and ask whether there is evidence that industrial council agreements force affected employers to pay union wages for non-union workers. They estimate that among Africans, union members earn about twenty percent more than non-members, while among whites, union workers earn ten percent more than non-union workers. They find that African non-union workers, who are covered by industrial council agreements, receive a premium of six to 10 percent; the premium is positive, but not statistically significant for whites. In addition, the union gap is smaller inside the industrial council system, than outside the system for Africans, implying that the total union premium for union members covered by an industrial council agreement, is similar to the union premium outside the industrial council system. Among Africans, the industrial council, and union wage gaps, are greatest among low-wage workers. To increase employment, policies in South Africa should focus on increasing competition among employers within sectors, rather than increasing competition among workers, by trying to reduce union power. 2014-08-26T20:42:58Z 2014-08-26T20:42:58Z 2001-01 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2001/01/1089593/wage-effects-unions-industrial-councils-south-africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19728 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 2520 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research Africa South Africa |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English en_US |
| topic |
AREA CENTER COLLECTIVE BARGAINING CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT EMPLOYERS EMPLOYMENT EXPLOITATION HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT HUMAN RESOURCES HUMAN RESOURCES INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS INTERSECT LABOR FORCE LABOR MARKET LABOUR RELATIONS LAWS LEGISLATION MINIMUM WAGES OCCUPATION POLICIES TRADE UNIONS UNEMPLOYMENT UNION UNIONIZATION UNIONS WAGES WORKERS |
| spellingShingle |
AREA CENTER COLLECTIVE BARGAINING CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT EMPLOYERS EMPLOYMENT EXPLOITATION HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT HUMAN RESOURCES HUMAN RESOURCES INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS INTERSECT LABOR FORCE LABOR MARKET LABOUR RELATIONS LAWS LEGISLATION MINIMUM WAGES OCCUPATION POLICIES TRADE UNIONS UNEMPLOYMENT UNION UNIONIZATION UNIONS WAGES WORKERS Butcher, Kristin F. Rouse, Cecilia Elena Wage Effects of Unions and Industrial Councils in South Africa |
| geographic_facet |
Africa South Africa |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 2520 |
| description |
In South Africa, unions which played a
crucial in the country's transition from apartheid, are
coming under fire. Some argue that a high union wage
premium, and the industrial council system are important
causes of inflexibility in South Africa's labor market.
The authors analyze unions' direct effect on
workers' wages (including the time-honored question
about whether the union wage gap is real, or reflects the
fact that workers who are members of unions, differ from
those who are not), and ask whether there is evidence that
industrial council agreements force affected employers to
pay union wages for non-union workers. They estimate that
among Africans, union members earn about twenty percent more
than non-members, while among whites, union workers earn ten
percent more than non-union workers. They find that African
non-union workers, who are covered by industrial council
agreements, receive a premium of six to 10 percent; the
premium is positive, but not statistically significant for
whites. In addition, the union gap is smaller inside the
industrial council system, than outside the system for
Africans, implying that the total union premium for union
members covered by an industrial council agreement, is
similar to the union premium outside the industrial council
system. Among Africans, the industrial council, and union
wage gaps, are greatest among low-wage workers. To increase
employment, policies in South Africa should focus on
increasing competition among employers within sectors,
rather than increasing competition among workers, by trying
to reduce union power. |
| format |
Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper |
| author |
Butcher, Kristin F. Rouse, Cecilia Elena |
| author_facet |
Butcher, Kristin F. Rouse, Cecilia Elena |
| author_sort |
Butcher, Kristin F. |
| title |
Wage Effects of Unions and Industrial Councils in South Africa |
| title_short |
Wage Effects of Unions and Industrial Councils in South Africa |
| title_full |
Wage Effects of Unions and Industrial Councils in South Africa |
| title_fullStr |
Wage Effects of Unions and Industrial Councils in South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Wage Effects of Unions and Industrial Councils in South Africa |
| title_sort |
wage effects of unions and industrial councils in south africa |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2014 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2001/01/1089593/wage-effects-unions-industrial-councils-south-africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19728 |
| _version_ |
1764440453340463104 |