It is useful to begin by noting how much has changed for the better in the context of the South African labor market in recent years.The removal of the stringent, race-specific controls over movement of people, enforced by the "pass laws" for over a century, has been fundamental. So too has the repeal of legislation that prohibited black South Africans from owning land in most parts of the country.Twenty years ago government policy was directed at reversing the process of black urbanization while simultaneously reducing employment in commercial agriculture; the trade-union movement was still battling for recognition; and education policy was fragmented, unequal and, for the majority, subject to the ideological underpinnings of "Bantu Education." In the democratic South Africa of 1996 significant advances have been made in dealing with major issues that were most visible 20 years ago However, huge problems remain. The first of these is poverty which, in South Africa, is closely linked to inequality. In World Development Report 1995 (World Bank, 1995),South Africa, with an average GNP per capita of $2,980, is listed as an upper-middle-income country