South African Guild of Actors, Numsa highlight exploitation in creative industry and demand reform
Jack Devnarain, chairperson of the South African Guild of Actors (SAGA) said the organisation has lobbied government for labour protections and fair regulation for fifteen years.
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South Africa’s creative industry generates billions for the economy, yet unions warn that the artists, actors, writers, and crews behind it remain excluded from labour protections and are too often left in poverty.
In a joint statement, the South African Guild of Actors (SAGA) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) described the sector as “parasitic, feeding off the labour of artists while denying them fair compensation and security.”
SAGA chairperson and actor Jack Devnarain said: “For fifteen years, SAGA has lobbied government for labour protections and fair regulation. Until freelance actors are recognised as workers under labour law, we will continue to see heartbreaking stories of celebrated performers dying in poverty.”
He added: “We’ve waited 30 years, how much longer must we wait while politicians prepare their next eulogy for another actor who dies destitute? This is not neglect. It is a deliberate strategy to deny creatives their constitutional rights.”
Numsa's deputy general secretary Mbuso Ngubane said the situation was a reversal of the sector’s historical role.
“Cultural workers played a central role in the fight against apartheid. Protest theatre and music were tools of resistance, used to educate, mobilise, and unify communities. Icons like Bra Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba used their art to challenge oppression. Yet today, the very sector that helped liberate this country is left to rot.”
The organisations pointed out that the creative sector spans music, film, television, performing arts, digital media, crafts, and design, contributing 6.72% to the economy and employing over a million people. Yet most of those workers remain freelancers with no standard contracts, no benefits, and no legal protections.
“Actors, writers, directors, and crew have no recognition under labour law. This must change,” the statement said.
Among the key challenges listed are “aggressive resistance from industry owners to regulation and transformation, many of whom are remnants of apartheid-era media,” contracts that strip workers of rights, blacklisting of those who speak out against exploitation, and fragmented workplaces that make union organising difficult.
The unions said only workers could drive change, with the Department of Employment and Labour identified as a key partner. “Transformation will require militant organising and collective action,” they said.
Numsa and SAGA argued that the current state of the industry “is the opposite of transformation” and that the abandonment of creative workers represents “a betrayal of South Africa’s democratic promise.”
The statement also linked the crisis to the death of veteran actress Mam’ Nandi Nyembe, who was buried last weekend. “Despite her fame and decades of contribution, she struggled to afford medical care and died without the dignity she deserved. Her story is tragically common.
“The death of Mam’ Nyembe must serve as a turning point. She must be the last to suffer such indignity. We call on all creative workers to unite, mobilise, and fight for their rights. The industry must be transformed, not in name, but in substance.”