Ordinary South Africans have inadequate labour protections and enjoy fewer economic rights than those with financial privilege. Anti-poor recruitment behaviours include the omission of pay information in job adverts and the popular payslip requests from recruiters.
Prejudiced recruitment practices strip job seekers of their right to fair treatment and create a culture of sustained oppression and inequality
Some Job Applicants Have Power Others Don’t
RECRUITMENT PRACTICES UNDERMINE CONSTITUTIONAL FAIRNESS CREATING A PREJUDICED LABOUR MARKET CONTEXT
Financial security and wage negotiations
Those job seekers who squat or pay rent, can’t afford medical aid, insurance or own limited if any assets – face greater economic oppression than those who have wealth and can benefit from various forms of financial security.
- Candidates who have financial privileges can negotiate harder during job interviews and are less likely to accept unfair wage offers.
- Limited access to savings (or other financial securities) makes one job applicant more vulnerable to unfair wage offers than another.
Applicants accept unfair offers for different reasons
- led to believe the offer is fair and reflects their skills and experience (example: Carrie Gracie and BBC)
- coerced into accepting unfair offers. They are told they will be expelled from the process if they ask for more
- desperation
The problem with accepting low pay is that payslip becomes a permanent price tag
- When these employees decide they are done with being underpaid, they look for alternatives. When applying for a new job, firms unlawfully demand payslips in order to match salaries or clandestinely compete against their rivals.
- The hiring firm often claims they are willing to pay a marginal increase on a former unfair salary and that an industry-standard limits them to 30%. Applicants’ pay slips are used to limit their wages and maintain unequal pay.
A Culture of Sustained Oppression
However…
The SA Competition Act refers to balancing the interests of workers, owners and consumers.
- Like the Constitution, it emphasizes fairness and equity.
- Wage offers based on rival firm payslip information fails to reflect a fairly balanced, competitive economic environment.
- Using payslips fixes the price of labour. However South Africa is based on a free economy which allows citizens to define themselves as free economic agents with the power to negotiate both individually and collectively.
Firms Must Compete for Talent in a Free Economy
Payslip information discards legislation defining South African citizens as equal members of a democracy, free agents within an economy.
Challenge payslip requests legally
Why work for exploitative lawless firms intent on unfair offers and ignoring your rights? It’s best to enforce the legal protections that exist so that wages are negotiated fairly. When the public allows firms unrestricted freedoms in the labour market, firms will exploit the opportunity to pay as low as possible.
Income inequality data proves that people are paid unfairly in South Africa. The public is exposed to unfair power advantages when firms decide what’s best for us.
