Work

Introduction: migrant labour after apartheid

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The South African migrant labour system is understood to have been brought to a close officially with the end of apartheid. After the introduction of democracy in 1994, there was a deliberate attempt to reverse the rural-urban migratory labour system in favour of a state-supported urbanisation strategy for the African poor in cities. This was accompanied first by policies to address poverty and landlessness in rural areas between 1994 and 2000, and later evolved into a stimulation policy for economically viable, market-orientated, small-scale farmers in rural areas (including the former homelands). The aim of the policy framework promoted by the new African National Congress (ANC) government was to create fixed populations, rooted in urban and rural areas, with different but complementary spatial economies built on a firm commitment to place-based development.

Source: Human Science Research Council SA

DOI: 10.14749/32379255

Author: Human Sciences Research Council

Language: English

Topic: Local Economic Development and Planning

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Decent work and economic growth, Peace, justice, and strong institutions, No poverty

Open Access status: green

Funder: Human Sciences Research Council

OpenAlex ID: W7162193663

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