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- Convenors:
-
Ulrike Lindner
(University of Cologne)
Meron Eresso (Addis Ababa University)
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- Chairs:
-
Michaela Pelican
(University of Cologne)
Ulrike Lindner (University of Cologne)
- Discussants:
-
Anne Kubai
(Södertörn)
Cynthia Pizarro (Universidad de Buenos Aires - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas)
- Format:
- Panel
- Streams:
- Anthropology (x) Inequality (y)
- Location:
- Philosophikum, S66
- Sessions:
- Thursday 1 June, -, -
Time zone: Europe/Berlin
Short Abstract:
Focusing on Africa, we discuss why labour practices often continue exploitative situations even if they aim at a more equal future. We present empirical /theoretical contributions examining the role of concepts and actors in the emergence and transformation of social inequalities linked to labour.
Long Abstract:
At the heart of this panel discussion is the question of social justice. Why have attempts at increasing equality often contributed to generating more durable inequalities? What does this imply for the planning of labour policies and labour regimes? Why do labour practices often continue exploitative situations even if they aim at a more equal future? We propose a panel discussion on this topic that is grounded in concepts and actors and their roles in producing and reproducing social inequalities in the context of colonial and postcolonial labour systems and regimes of mobility in Africa. More specifically, we draw on selected concepts that are locally grounded and describe forms of social inequalities linked to different types of labour exploitation, namely "native labour", "new slavery", "human trafficking", and "cheap/abundant labour". The panel discussion will offer insights - both from a historical and contemporary perspective - on how these concepts circulated on a global scale, and were negotiated, translated, and adapted by institutional and individual actors to challenge social inequalities, while eventually contributing to the production of those same, or new, inequalities. We aim to reconcile debates on conceptual history, labour history, and inequality and combine perspectives from both South and North. We present empirical and theoretical contributions that look at past forms of labour exploitation and their conceptualisation, the changes and continuities that characterise today's forms of labour exploitation and conceptualisation, and how this transformation continues to structure future labour practices and their framing.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 1 June, 2023, -Paper short abstract:
This paper examines “new slavery” as it relates to Chinese indentured labor in early 1900s South Africa. It argues that to bring to life the story of these laborers, who are left out of African Studies, the concept of “new slavery” requires reflection on all its historical and systemic aspects.
Paper long abstract:
Following the South African Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, a demand for cheap labor from the gold mining industry in the Witwatersrand (Rand) had the British colonial government looking towards Asia for labor. The turn to China for indenture labor was met with condemnation by white laborers and trade unions along with various other actors in South Africa and the metropolitan center, claiming that a system of “new slavery” was being introduced. Despite protests across the British empire, the first Chinese laborers arrived on the Rand in 1904. By 1906, the Liberal Party’s victory in Britain reinvigorated the “new slavery” debate, contributing to the abolition of Chinese indenture. My paper aims to answer the following questions: Given that South Africa already had local sources of cheap labor, why was labor sought in China? What were the characteristics of “new slavery” from the perspective of those who opposed the importation of Chinese indentured laborers, and how was it eventually abolished in South Africa? Through my answers, I aim to delineate the sociopolitical framing of “new slavery” that has since been supplanted by what Cooper (2005, 17) calls “agentless abstraction” that does little to illuminate the experience of indenture labor and their role in historic transformations, namely South Africa’s racial capitalist future after reconstruction. By demonstrating this, I argue that to bring to life the story of Chinese indentured labor, who are left out of history books about Africa, the concept of “new slavery” requires reflection on all its historical and systemic aspects.
Paper short abstract:
Looking at the ILO’s engagement with the so-called “native labour question”, we analyse the influence of different networks (labour activists versus imperial interests) as well as the emerging conflicts and the underlying power structures within the ILO.
Paper long abstract:
This paper discusses the ILO’s engagement with the so-called ‘native labour questions’ between 1919 and 1930. We choose to look at the personal entanglements between ILO staff and philanthropic activist groups on the one hand, and imperial actors representing the interests of colonial powers on the other hand. Following Kott (2018), we understand international organisations as “spaces in which one can reveal the existence of networks of relationships and systems of circulation” (33). Consequently, this paper argues that the newly founded ILO section was regarded as an important forum for advocacy of their interests by a diverse group of actors.
During the first years, some of the philanthropic groups could already count on their personal connections into the international sphere of the organization and exerted their influence through these networks. More marginalized actors, such as the pan-African movement around W.E.B. Du Bois, argued for the need of direct representation on the expert committee based on factors of race and gender. When the ILO’s efforts culminated in the 1927 foundation of a so-called ‘Committee of Experts for Native Labour’, however, most of the expert seats were filled by former colonial politicians, representing the interests of the imperial powers and not those of activists. Comparing these different modes of networking during the early study of ‘Native Labour’ in the ILO therefore allows us to understand the contested discourse within the ILO and the workings of the power structures in which the imperial networks mostly took precedence.
Paper short abstract:
Our study examines whether the sector of employment and the origin country of the employer matter for the multidimensional well-being of Ethiopian female workers in the apparel and floriculture sectors. The study uses a recent survey data collected on 2515 female workers in this context.
Paper long abstract:
Governments across the developing world are preoccupied with creating jobs for their growing labour force by relying heavily on foreign investments. While these investments are ensuring job creation especially for the female labour force, the quality of these jobs have attracted discussions in both academic and societal debates. However, these debates are limited to workers’ job satisfaction and working conditions. There is limited research on the wellbeing consequences of these jobs, especially related to the sector of employment and the origin country of investors, who operate within distinct compliance regimes to labour standards. Our study examines whether the sector of employment and the origin country of the employer matter for the multidimensional well-being of Ethiopian female workers in the apparel and floriculture sectors. The study uses a recent survey data collected on 2515 female workers in this context. Our findings indicate that insufficient incomes in both sectors of employment is negatively associated with female workers’ multidimensional and emotional wellbeing. We do not find evidence that the origin country of the investor matters but distinct individual characteristics such as education, migration status and social relationships determine female workers’ well-being.
Paper short abstract:
How do labour practices in foreign-owned companies lead to exploitative working conditions in Ethiopia? How do the government's manufacturing policy and lack of government labour inspection in companies cheapen wages and create social inequalities associated with "abundant labour?"
Paper long abstract:
Ethiopia, emulating the developmental state model of east Asian states, attracted labour-intensive manufacturing industries to create job opportunities for its young people by providing a class of "cheapened labourers" for global production. Thousands of young rural girls and university graduates work for foreign companies that have relocated their factories to Ethiopian industrial parks. Drawing on fieldwork in two foreign garment companies misleadingly named Green Garment Company (GGC) and Blue Apparel Company (BAC) in Bole Lemi industrial park (BLIP) in Addis Ababa, this paper explores how the market's abundance of job-seeking labour forces cheapened factory workers' wages, allowing foreign companies to exploit local workers and extract unpaid surplus labour from them. It will also investigate how workers in garment factories perceive and resist exploitative working conditions.
Paper short abstract:
Utilising data from ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in Cameroon and the United Arab Emirates, this paper addresses why, despite the universal condemnation of human trafficking and the broad alliances against it, so little progress seems to have been made.
Paper long abstract:
Trafficking in person, unlike other challenges of our time, is widely recognised as a devastating human tragedy. We find states and civil society, countries in the North and South, prominent international organisations and local NGOs and people with opposing political or ideological views in agreement as they condemn this practice or mobilise against it. However, despite the universal condemnation, official reports and the broader debate suggest a steady rise in magnitude. In Cameroon, the state works closely with international partners–the US, UK and UN, and local NGOs and civil society to crack down on human trafficking. In addition, it occasionally seeks cooperation with destination countries in tackling this problem. Given such a broad alliance and public support, we ask why so little progress seems to have been made. Against this question, we seek to identify the networks involved in human trafficking in the case of migration from Cameroon to the Gulf states and analyse their roles and the position of different actors within them. We utilise data from ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in Cameroon and the United Arab Emirates and draw on the conceptual lenses of migration infrastructure and multiscalar perspectives.
Paper short abstract:
This paper explores the causal relationship between human trafficking, global inequalities, and labour economics. Trafficking in persons promotes a system where those with economic power dominate those without power. Keywords: Global Inequalities, Labour Economics, Power, Trafficking in Persons.
Paper long abstract:
The causal relationship between human trafficking, global inequalities and labour economics undermines the very essence of humanity and calls for a global consciousness to reverse the trend. Human Trafficking, modern day slavery, is derived from unequal power relations, it is a global heinous crime involving exploitation of persons mainly for the purpose of sex and labour. Despite efforts made to end human trafficking, (Palermo Protocol, (2000)) it is clear that corresponding efforts to bridge inequalities at macro and micro levels and labour systems as an element of production are not considered. Before civilization, the world witnessed one of the darkest chapters of humanity the rich and powerful engaged in oppressive acts buying, selling and owning slaves - Slave Trade (17th Century). Simply put trading in human beings as chattels in exchange for goods. Labour is a major factor of production for goods and services by human beings depending on skills and ability, technology used, how production is organized and workers motivation. An economy that considers good labour practices and fair trade systems can guarantee economic growth, development, and stability short of these considerations is exploitation. Trade reforms in Africa like AfCFTA still finds it difficult to take off.
Labour migration of skilled and unskilled workers boost the economy of the receiving country unlike that of the country of origin despite global commitments Political instability too leaves much to be desired. Covid 19 pandemic (2019)has created a new inequality with economic and political consequences particularly for Africa.