CHAPTER 2 A PROFILE OF SUBCONTRACTORS IN THE CAPE
2.5 LABOUR
It was suggested that this residual related to unquantifiable aspects of the loosely-defined term 'entrepreneurship'.
employment, 3.2 and 2.6 persons per firm respectively. Table 2.2547 indicates the high proportion of unskilled labour employed relative to skilled labour"and apprentices.
Table 2.25
Type of Employment provided by Trade Type of Employment
Trade Labourer Artisan Foreman Apprentice Total
B/layer ('is) 65.1 31.9 0.0 3.0 100.0
Carp/er ('is) 72.0 23.6 0.0 4.4 100.0
Plast/er(%) 52.9 42.5 0.6 4.0 100.0
Painter ('is) 89.7 10.3 0.0 0.0 100.0
Elec.jn (%) 71.8 21.9 0.0 6.3 100.0
Plumber ('is) 91.3 8.7 0.0 0.0 100.0
Total ('is) 66.0 30.7 0.1 3.2 100.0
Of the 816 workers employed in the sample, 539 (66%) were employed as unskilled labourers. The most intensive trades in terms of unskilled labour are plumbing and painting, which employ 91.3% and 89.7% unskilled labour respectively. Bricklayers employ 65.1% unskilled labour and plasterers 52.9%. As the vast majority of skilled workers are not qualified artisans, the potential of the sector to employ particularly unskilled labour is even greater than indicated above.
2.5.2 Education and Training
Table 2.26,48 below, indicates the extent to which workers employed for skilled work are not qualified artisans.
Table 2.26 Artisans by Qualification49
Qualification No.
Apprenticeship 25
Learnership 18
Not qualified 140
Total 183
47. See Appendix F, question 23 for 'the survey question.
Percent 13.7
9.8 76.5 100.0
48. See Appendix F, question 40(5) for the SUlVCy question. . . ' . ' '.
49. No analysis of qualifications by trade was undertaken owing to the small sample of artisans in the electrical and plumbing trades.
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Of the 183 people employed as artisans in the sample, 140 (76.5%) did not have a relevant trade qualification. The employment of unskilled labour for skilled work is prohibited in terms of the Industrial Council agreement for the region (see Appendix A) . The difficulty of policing subcontractors, however, results in their being able to circumvent these regulations. This is an important result, as unskilled workers are likely to be hardest hit by recessions and employment of this type requires little initial investment in human capital.
A number of studies have suggested that SSEs tend to play an important role in training skilled workers and future operators for that sector (Page & Steel, 1984; Schmitz, 1982a). It was noted earlier that most of the operators interviewed had not aquired their own skills in the SSE sector. Further, the 112 firms surveyed only provided training opportunities for 26 apprentices. Nevertheless, the use of unskilled labour to
perform skilled work does imply some upgrading of skills on site, the quality of which will depend on the level of supervision and on-the-job training.
2.5.3 Rates of Growth of Employment
Table 2.2750 shows rates of growth of employment in the subcontracting firms.
Table 2.27
Rates of Growth of Employment by Trade Trade ('Ii of firms)
Rate of All
Growth p.a. B/layer Carp Plast Paint Elec Plumb Trade
< -10\ . 9.5 15.8 12.5 16.7 10.0 0.0 l l . l
-1'1> to -10\ 4.8 5.3 6.3 8.3 0.0 0.0 4.6
0\ 33.3 47.4 12.5 58.3 30.0 44.4 36.1
1'1> to 10\ 11.9 10.5 6.3 16.7 0.0 0.0 9.3
10% + 40.5 21.0 62.5 0.0 60.0 55.6 38.9 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Mean 49\ 30\ 26% -4% ll% 85% 36%
Mean rates of growth in employment per annum are over 10% for all trades, except painting. Despite significant variation in these growth rates, the firms generally have a strong potential to absorb labour over time. Sl
so. Sec Appendix F, question 22 and 23 for the survey questions
51. Given that the survey was undertaken in an upturn in building activity, rates of employment growth were probably at a CYClical high.
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2.5.4 Relative Labour Intensity
It has been found that subcontractors have the potential to create sUbstantial employment opportunities. However, an important qualification must be pinned to this analysis.
Each of the site managers and owners interviewed argued that the employment of subcontractors and the associated reduction in wages, did not imply any significant change in the technique of house production (Interviews 1-8). This assertion was supported in 2 further interviews (Interviews 12-13).
This suggests that the production of mass housing is labour intensive, and that there is little scope, at existing variations in labour costs, for efficient alternative production
technologies. Apart from the duplication of a few jobs (like carting cement), the extent of employment creation would not differ with the size of the enterprise.
Small firms do, however, employ a greater proportion of unskilled relative to skilled labour. This is due to their greater ability to circumvent Industrial Council regulations prohibiting the use of unskilled labour for skilled work.
Therefore, the production of low-cost housing has the potential for sUbstantial employment creation. This result is supported in Araud, Boon, Urquidi and strassman (1973). However, the
implications of the size of firm that undertakes the contract are probably irrelevant from the point of view of the amount of employment created, but not for the type of employment created.
2.5.5 Summary
In the context of low-cost housing provision, the activities under review have the potential to absorb large amounts of labour. In addition, i t was shown earlier that the cost per job created in the sector is low in comparison to other sectors in the economy.
Given the relatively fixed production coefficients in low-cost home building, the subcontractors do not have the ability to create more employment per house constructed than do LSEs. They are, however, able to create more employment opportunities for unskilled people relative to skilled people. This is an important result, given the employment needs of the unskilled.
The practice also implies that despite the- small number -of registered apprentices, the sector does provide skills upgrading to a significant number of unskilled workers.