Doug, from Johannesburg, Rifkin was on the radio here a few months ago, but ironically notwithstanding SA's present jobless growth situation (3.1% GDP increase in 1996, and tens of thousands of net jobs lost in the private sector) there's been no effort to draw the End of Work arguments in either as justification by status quo forces or as the basis for third sector subsidies (community development etc). Much of the employment discourse from Cosatu still centres around old-style public works programmes, mass housing construction, etc, along with current efforts to shore up wages, worker safety and health, maternity leave and the like. National general strike planned for June 2 along these lines. Old-style labour economism plus a dash of usually very good social policy advocacy; perfectly appropriate mix in a society and economy like South Africa.
