SIXTEEN YEARS LATER
Are We Still Calling Creative Workers "Independent Contractors" While Treating Them Like Employees?
An opinion piece by Thami akaMbongo Manzana
In 2010, the then Department of Labour released a report titled Employment Relationships in the South African Creative Industry. It sought to answer a simple but powerful question:
Who is really an employee in South Africa's Cultural and Creative Industries?
Sixteen years later, perhaps the more uncomfortable question is this:
What exactly has changed?
If one reads this report today without looking at the publication date, one could easily mistake it for a report released in 2026.
That should worry all of us.
The report investigated employment relationships across music, theatre, film and television, crafts, visual arts and design. It found that while most creative workers were legally regarded as independent contractors, many worked under conditions that looked remarkably similar to employment. They were controlled, economically dependent on one employer, worked long hours, and yet enjoyed none of the protections normally associated with employment.
Does that sound familiar?
Today we still hear the same stories.
Artists continue to work project after project.
Technicians continue to move from contract to contract.
Performers still negotiate individually against organisations with significantly more bargaining power.
Many creatives still have no pension.
No UIF.
No paid leave.
No medical aid.
No employment security.
The report was never merely about legal definitions.
It was about justice.
It asked whether labour laws had kept pace with the realities of creative work.
Sixteen years later, perhaps we should ask another question:
Have policymakers kept pace with the realities identified by their own research?
One of the report's most striking observations was that many talented artists leave the industry because creative work simply cannot sustain a livelihood.
How many internationally acclaimed South African artists have we celebrated only after hearing stories of financial hardship?
How many theatre practitioners continue to survive from one funding cycle to another?
How many actors remain unemployed between productions despite years of experience?
How many musicians still struggle to earn fairly from the work that defines South African culture?
How many administrators, stage managers, lighting designers and technicians continue to remain invisible in policy conversations?
These are not new questions.
They were already being asked sixteen years ago.
The report also recognised something many still ignore today.
The Cultural and Creative Industries are not simply about entertainment.
They are economic sectors.
They create employment.
They generate income.
They preserve heritage.
They strengthen identity.
They stimulate tourism.
They contribute to innovation.
Yet, despite recognising this contribution, South Africa continues to treat many creative workers as though they operate outside the mainstream economy.
Why?
Another uncomfortable observation in the report concerns research itself.
Even in 2010, government researchers complained about fragmented data, inconsistent statistics and the absence of reliable information about the sector.
Sixteen years later...
How many databases now accurately tell us how many theatre practitioners work in South Africa?
How many freelancers?
How many technicians?
How many performers survive solely from creative income?
How many arts organisations have permanent employees?
How many rely entirely on contracts?
How much has really improved?
If we cannot measure the sector properly, can we genuinely claim to be developing it?
Perhaps the biggest lesson from this report is not its findings.
It is the fact that many of those findings remain relevant.
Government changes.
Boards change.
CEOs change.
Strategies change.
White Papers are reviewed.
Masterplans are launched.
Presidential summits are held.
Policies are drafted.
Task teams are appointed.
Yet the lived reality of many creative workers appears remarkably consistent.
That should concern everyone.
As South Africa debates the future of the Cultural and Creative Industries, perhaps we should begin not by commissioning another expensive report.
Perhaps we should first revisit the reports we already have.
How many recommendations from this 2010 study were implemented?
Which departments took responsibility?
Which recommendations remain outstanding?
Who monitored progress?
Who was held accountable?
Sometimes the problem is not a lack of research.
Sometimes the problem is a lack of implementation.
The Cultural and Creative Industries deserve more than admiration.
Creative workers deserve more than applause.
They deserve fair labour protections, meaningful social security, sustainable careers and policies that recognise the unique nature of creative work.
Sixteen years after this report was written, the biggest question may not be whether creative workers are employees or independent contractors.
The real question is this:
How many more reports must confirm the same realities before South Africa finally reforms the system that governs work in the Cultural and Creative Industries?
Perhaps the report was never ahead of its time.
Perhaps the country simply never caught up with it.
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