In the lead-up to the budget speech, finance minister Enoch Godongwana used unemployment as justification for increasing VAT, despite Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter warning that this approach has never been effective in the past. He further threatened that if VAT were not raised, 19,000 teaching jobs would be lost.
This is psychological manipulation at its finest, exploiting fear while knowing full well that these job losses would only add to the existing 12-million unemployed and depressed South African youth. The Gauteng government has leveraged youth unemployment in exchange for political support and votes. After the elections, 66,000 people — mostly young and black — lost their jobs and the Gauteng premier admitted that these jobs were for the elections.
Oppression is defined as mental pressure or distress. Youth unemployment creates immense psychological strain, leading to depression and desperation. This vulnerability and desperation are then exploited by both the government and the private sector, which impose high workloads, low wages and increased profits at the expense of young workers.
The sense of déjà vu is understandable. These same mental pressures were experienced under apartheid, making it easier for the ANC to mobilise resistance at the time. However, the key difference today is that this oppression is systemic rather than brutally enforced, and the one in charge of this oppression this time is the ANC.
Furthermore, youth unemployment has reversed hard-won gender equality struggles. Many women are forced to endure sexual exploitation for employment, such as interns hoping for permanent contracts. A recent example is the suspension of one of the Eastern Cape department heads, accused of coercing interns into sexual relationships with the promise of job security.
The department of education has also taken advantage of unemployment by hiring qualified educators as education assistants, paying them significantly less than a standard teaching salary. The inexplicable rationale for this is that these are temporary measures. This again illustrates how systemic oppression relies on voluntary exploitation, fuelled by fears of poverty, failure and job insecurity.
At the household level, studies have linked unemployment (destitute) to increased gender-based violence, which disproportionately affects women and children. Meanwhile, youth organisations such as the ANC Youth League have been reduced to employment pipelines for municipal, government and ministerial positions, stripping them of their ability to advocate for young people.
As a result, youth are left vulnerable and exploited, deprived of opportunities and manipulated by their employers. If youth unemployment is being used as a tool of oppression, then it follows that the rights of young South Africans are being systematically violated.
If we agree with the humanities principle that prevention is better than cure, then employment should be seen as a key preventive measure against issues such as gender-based violence and inequality
Those who benefit from the oppression of youth are, by definition, the oppressors. By this logic, South Africa’s former liberators can now be seen as new oppressors. Youth employment has long been used as a tool of oppression, a trend that dates back to apartheid. During that time, job opportunities for young people were highly exploitive, operating on a “take it or leave it” basis.
It was only by the year 2000 that youth unemployment counting by Stats SA included all South Africans and exceeded 50% of unemployed youth. Scientifically, this highlights that unemployment existed during apartheid, but it was accompanied by severe exploitation and exposure to unemployment-related mental illnesses.
This issue concerns social workers, as unemployment directly impacts the state of social welfare. A key social work theoretical framework for understanding this is the theory of oppression, integrated with systems theory. These perspectives explain how youth unemployment and oppression create widespread consequences, at a societal level, within communities, families and for individuals.
Youth unemployment is therefore more than just an economic issue; it worsens inequalities and oppresses. Civic organisations advocating for human rights should adopt a broader perspective, recognising the link between youth unemployment, oppression, and human rights violations. If we agree with the humanities principle that prevention is better than cure, then employment should be seen as a key preventive measure against issues such as gender-based violence and inequality.
• Awam Mavimbela is a registered social worker, former Walter Sisulu University lecturer, PhD candidate with the University of the Free State and a published author and academic.
For opinion and analysis consideration, e-mail Opinions@timeslive.co.za
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