Labour market policy, flexibility, and the future of labour relations : the case of clothing

This paper analyses how enterprises in the clothing industry in South Africa restructure and reconfigure their production processes in order to cope with labour legislation. Based on interviews with key informants - union officials, employer representatives, bargaining council investigators, local government officials and other organisations within the clothing industry, findings show that firm responses are largely pernicious - aimed at by-passing and undermining labour legislation - without changing relationships at the workplace. Effects such as hiring “independent contractors” may undermine a nascent collective bargaining system