Introduction

This chapter examines the livelihood strategies of a group of marginalized workers in the clothing sector in the inner city of Johannesburg, drawing on the results of in-depth interviews and non-participant observation. South Africa has already embarked on a public employment scheme through the Community Work Programme (CWP) and the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP). Many of the precarious workers are immigrants, and if they are to benefit from state programmes their status needs to be legalized. Many of them are non-South Africans, are vulnerable to deportation and find faith-based organizations as their source of support. Interviews with workers in these different types of factories and CMTs demonstrate that worker insecurity tends to increase, as the enterprises become increasingly detached from the formal chain of production. Conditions of employment in FPMs and Connected CMTs are covered by the Bargaining Council, a statutory employer-union body designed to set employment standards in the clothing industry.