This book has been titled Labour Pains to reflect the intensity of the struggle for gender equality in the trade union movement and society. Women in labour carry the double burden of paid work and unpaid work in the home. Black working class women are oppressed as black people, as women and as workers. They also face a ‘struggle within the struggle’ as they are forced to confront sexism in their won unions as well as in the workplace and at home. The book explores the experiences of women leaders in the trade unions, and the strategies they use to deal with the challenges and the burdens they face. It also reflects on the strategies adopted by COSATU and some of its affiliates to advance gender equality and promote organizational change. While the book acknowledges that progress has been made on the development of policy for gendered change, it argues that little has been achieved in practice in terms of translating commitments into meaningful reality for working class women. The book argues that challenging unequal power between men and women in the unions and society does not happen simply through resolutions, policies and setting up structures – it happens through action and activism.

This report seeks to set out some of the critical dynamics that inform the livelihood and coping strategies of poor people living in South Africa today. Specifically it seeks to explore the role played by social grants in a poor community from the perspectives of both grant recipients and people who are not eligible for any form of social assistance living in the same community.

Download full report here.

This booklet forms part of the African Social Observatory (ASO) project, which is coordinated by the National Labour & Economic Development Institute (NALEDI) on behalf of the African Labour Research Network (ALRN). This booklet examines the behaviour of three leading gold producers in Africa, namely Gold Fields (in Ghana and South Africa), Anglogold Ashanti (in Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe) and Metorex (in Zambia). Special attention is given to labour relations and working conditions, company restructuring, HIV/AIDS policies and practices; health and safety and environmental issues and social responsibility programmes.