Experiences of male migrant labourers at Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife.
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Date
2017
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Abstract
The literature on male migrant workers indicates that the migrant labour system has a negative
impact on the stability and well-being of the family, including children. For instance children
coming from households with absent fathers are likely to experience behavioral problems and
poor performance at school. (Ratele, 2012; Nyanjaha and Masango, 2012). Noticeable, in rural
areas of developing countries, there are socio-economic benefits associated with migration and it
could be a survival strategy within the household. Internal migration is a common pattern in
South Africa where people migrate from rural to urban areas in search for work. Most of the
literature on migrant labour in South Africa is located within the Mining and Agricultural sector.
There is little or no research that has been conducted within the sector of Nature Conservation
sector where most of the employees reside within the workplace which is often far from their
household. The study aims to understand the experiences of the male labour migrants employed
at EZEMVELO KWAZULU-NATAL WILDLIFE (EKZNW).
Using a qualitative research paradigm, In-depth semi-structured interviews as well as focus
group discussions were held with 15 workers employed by EKZNW and all the participants were
recruited using purposive and snow ball sampling. Social constructionism theory was used as
the theoretical lens to better understand the experiences of labour migrants.
The study indicated that whilst the socio-economic benefits associated with the financial security
of the migrants was evident, working away from the family created unintended consequences for
workers and their families. Following these findings, the recommendations include
improvements that need to be made by the social work practitioners in dealing with their
clientele.
Policies and programmes should be formulated to create an environment that promotes and
support educational activities for staff. Tension between employees and local communities could
be addressed by strengthening existing relationships with communities through local community
leaders.
Further research is required to obtain a broader understanding of the lives of migrant workers, by
including significant others, which can also include supervisors. A similar study could be
undertaken across the country at other nature conservation agencies as views and experiences at
other sites could differ.
Description
Master of Social Science in Social Work. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2017.
Keywords
Theses - Social Work.