Social reintegration studies posit that there is relentless and subtle governance in
society that aims to exclude people with a criminal record from participating in the
labour market. Generally speaking, the majority of these studies focus exclusively on
ex-offenders who return home after successfully participating in higher education,
while ignoring the effects of a criminal record, especially given the increasingly
emerging cohort of people living with the stigma of, and discrimination against, a
criminal record. Notwithstanding the myriad of challenges and complexities that ex offenders encounter when applying for admission to professional licensing bodies
and/or employment, this study, situated in a qualitative paradigm, incorporated the
Social Identity Theory (SIT) to explore and illuminate the lived experiences of six ex life-imprisonment offenders (ex-lifers) as they navigated South Africa‟s labour market
in search of employment. To address the study‟s main research question, their
views, perceptions and experiences regarding South Africa‟s labour market were
considered with those of a human resource manager, the DCS‟s skills development
director and various gatekeepers to the Law, Education, Social Work and
Psychology professions as the study‟s primary sources of data. This framework
served to guide the study‟s design achieved through social constructionism while
adopting a phenomenological stance, intertwined with a qualitative policy document
analysis methodology. Based on the study‟s findings, applications and admission to
practise, including access to labour markets, are context-bound and subscribe to the
“fit and proper” clause that functions as a “sieve” for assessing and identifying
“defects” in character, thereby regulating the conditions that justify the admission and
rejection of people with a criminal record. On a more positive note, the “dynamics of
criminal records”, namely, the “nature and severity of the offence” committed, the “age and time of conviction”, and the “association between the job and/or training
applied for” vary, as are the circumstances leading to each criminal record.
Therefore, despite being portrayed as a “double-edged sword” with adverse
implications for “concealment and non-disclosure”, by itself, a criminal record is not
commensurate to automatic disqualification, since each criminal record is unique,
and constructed entirely based on “individual merit”.
Sosiale herintegrasiestudies stel voor dat daar meedoënlose en subtiele bestuur in
die samelewing is wat daarop gemik is om mense met 'n kriminele rekord uit te sluit
van deelname aan die arbeidsmark. Oor die algemeen fokus die meerderheid van
hierdie studies uitsluitlik op oud-oortreders wat huis toe terugkeer nadat hulle
suksesvol aan hoër onderwys deelgeneem het, terwyl die gevolge van 'n kriminele
rekord geïgnoreer word, veral gegewe die toenemend opkomende groep mense wat
met die stigma van, en diskriminasie teen, „n kriminele rekord leef. Nieteenstaande
die magdom uitdagings en kompleksiteite wat oud-oortreders teëkom wanneer hulle
aansoek doen om toelating tot professionele registrasieliggame en/of indiensneming,
het hierdie studie, geleë in 'n kwalitatiewe paradigma, die Sosiale Identiteitsteorie
(SIT) geïnkorporeer om die geleefde ervarings van ses oud-lewenslange oortreders,
terwyl hulle Suid-Afrika se arbeidsmark navigeer op soek na werk, te ondersoek. Om
die studie se hoofnavorsingsvraag aan te spreek, is hul sienings, persepsies en
ervarings rakende Suid-Afrika se arbeidsmark oorweeg asook dié van 'n
menslikehulpbronbestuurder, die Departement van Korrektiewe Dienste se
vaardigheidsontwikkelingsdirekteur en verskeie hekwagters tot die Regte-,
Onderwys-, Maatskaplike werk- en Sielkunde-professies as die studie se primêre
bronne van data. Hierdie raamwerk het gedien om die studie se ontwerp, wat deur
middel van sosiale konstruksionisme bereik is, te rig, terwyl dit 'n fenomenologiese
standpunt ingeneem het, verweef met 'n kwalitatiewe beleidsdokument ontledingsmetodologie. Gebaseer op die studie se bevindinge, is aansoeke en
toelating tot praktisering, insluitend toegang tot arbeidsmarkte, konteksgebonde en
onderskryf dit die "pas en behoorlik" klousule wat funksioneer as 'n "sif" vir die
assessering en identifisering van "gebreke" in karakter, en daardeur regulering van
die voorwaardes wat die toelating en verwerping van mense met 'n kriminele rekord
regverdig. Op 'n meer positiewe noot, die "dinamika van kriminele rekords", naamlik die "aard en erns van die oortreding" wat gepleeg is, die "ouderdom en tyd van
skuldigbevinding", en die "assosiasie tussen die werk en/of opleiding waarvoor
aansoek gedoen word" verskil, asook die omstandighede wat tot elke kriminele
rekord lei. Daarom, ten spyte daarvan dat dit as 'n "tweesnydende swaard"
uitgebeeld word met nadelige implikasies vir "verberging en nie-openbaarmaking",
op sigself, is 'n kriminele rekord nie in ooreenstemming met outomatiese diskwalifikasie nie, aangesien elke kriminele rekord uniek is, en geheel en al
gebaseer op “individuele meriete”.
Ucwaningo lokubuyiselwa komphakathi emphakathini lubeka ukuthi kunokubusa
okungapheli nokucashile emphakathini okuhlose ukukhipha abantu abanerekhodi
lobugebengu ekubambeni iqhaza emakethe yezabasebenzi. Ngokuvamile, iningi
lalezi zifundo ligxile kakhulu kulabo ababeyizephula-mthetho ababuyela emakhaya
ngemva kokubamba iqhaza ngempumelelo emfundweni ephakeme, kuyilapho
beshaya indiva imiphumela yerekhodi lobugebengu, ikakhulukazi uma kubhekwa
ukukhula kwezinga labantu abaphila nokucwaswa, kwerekhodi lobugebengu.
Naphezu kwezinkulungwane zezinselelo nobunzima labo ababeyizephula-mthetho
abahlangabezana nazo lapho befaka izicelo zokwamukelwa ezinkampanini
ezinikezela ngamalayisensi kanye nokuqashwa. Lolucwaningo olutholakala
endaweni yezinga eliphakeme luhlanganise i-Social Identity Theory (SIT) ukuze
luhlole futhi lukhanyise kabanzi ulwazi ngempilo yabayisithupha ababeboshelwe
ubugebengu njengoba bezulazula emakethe yezabasebenzi eNingizimu Afrika
befuna umsebenzi. Ukubhekana nombuzo obalulekile wocwaningo, imibono yabo,
imibono kanye nolwazi lwabo mayelana nemakethe yezemisebenzi yaseNingizimu
Afrika kucatshangelwe kanye naleyo yomphathi wezabasebenzi, umqondisi
wokuthuthukiswa kwamakhono we-DCS kanye nabalinda amasango behlukene
bomsebenzi wezoMthetho, wezeMfundo, ezeNhlalakahle nezeNgqondo
njengezisebenzi imithombo eyinhloko yocwaningo olunzulu.
Lolu hlaka lusebenze ukuqondisa umklamo wocwaningo ozuzwe ngokwakhiwa
komphakathi ngenkathi kwamukelwa isimo se-phenomenological, esihlanganiswe
nendlela yokuhlaziya idokhumenti yenqubomgomo ezingeni eliphambile. Isisekelo
salokho okutholakele ngocwaningo, izicelo kanye nokwenza ngokusezingeni
elamukelelayo ukufinyelela ezimakethe zabasebenzi, kuhambisana nengqikithi futhi
kuhambisana nesigatshana “sokufaneleka nesifanele” esisebenza “njengesisefo” sokuhlola nokuhlonza “amaphutha” ngohlamvu, ngalokho. ukulawula izimo
ezivumela ukwamukelwa kanye nokwaliwa kwabantu abanerekhodi lobugebengu.
Okuhle nakakhulu ke, “ukushintshashintsha kwamarekhodi obugebengu”,
okungukuthi, “imvelo nobukhulu becala” elenziwe, “iminyaka kanye nesikhathi
sokugwetshwa”, kanye “nokuhlangana phakathi komsebenzi noma ukuqeqeshwa
okufakele izicelo” ziyahluka, njengoba zinjalo izimo eziholela kurekhodi ngalinye
lobugebengu. Ngakho-ke, naphezu kokuvezwa “njengenkemba ebukhali nhlangothi zombili” enemithelela emibi “yokufihla nokungadalulwa”, ngokwalo, irekhodi
lobugebengu alihambisani nokuhoxiswa okuzenzakalelayo, njengoba irekhodi
ngalinye lobugebengu lihlukile, futhi lakhiwe ngesisekelo esipheliwiseyo.
"ukufaneleka komuntu ngamunye".
