Investigating casual workers in the wine tourism industry of the Western Cape in South Africa

Abstract

The global economy continues to experience a decline in permanent formal sector employment, accompanied by a rise in the casualization of jobs across both the formal and informal sectors. Despite this trend, there is limited research on casual workers labour, particularly within the South African wine tourism industry. This study addressed this gap by investigating casual workers in this industry, with the following research objectives: to examine the personal characteristics of casual workers employed in the wine tourism industry; to assess the employment characteristics of these casual workers; to explore the main challenges faced by these workers to propose policy recommendations to mitigate these challenges. The study adopted a primary data collection approach by administering survey questionnaires to over 200 casual workers across the Western Cape province between February and July 2025 to gather detailed information on their personal experiences.