Demistifying employment in South Africa's Just Energy Transition: Exploring emerging decent work themes

The South African energy sector is faced with competing priorities concerned with ensuring environmental sustainability, energy security, and balancing its citizens' socio-economic needs. The decarbonisation agenda has put a spotlight on the quality of jobs in the energy sector, particularly th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Development southern Africa (Sandton, South Africa) South Africa), 2024-05, Vol.41 (3), p.649-665
Main Authors: Mohlakoana, Nthabiseng, Rathupetsane, Alboricah, Malope, Boitumelo, Jacob, Merin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coal
Decent work
Employment
Energy industry
jobs
just energy transition
Labor movements
Renewable energy
Socioeconomic factors
Value chain
Work
Workforce
Working conditions
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:The South African energy sector is faced with competing priorities concerned with ensuring environmental sustainability, energy security, and balancing its citizens' socio-economic needs. The decarbonisation agenda has put a spotlight on the quality of jobs in the energy sector, particularly those in the coal value chain. This paper aims to bring some focus to the subject of decent work as per the International Labour Organisation's definition and highlights the emerging themes in the South African energy sector. Our research shows that, although the country is on the path to decarbonisation, a clear definition of a job and decent work is needed. We show that if the country is to depend on the Renewable Energy industry, it is imperative to ensure that this industry has the capacity to provide the necessary skills and training to its new workforce and provide fair and just working conditions that would lead to decent work.
ISSN:0376-835X
1470-3637
DOI:10.1080/0376835X.2024.2352074