GARY RYNHART: Citizen assemblies could help unlock the jobs crisis

One thing that seems to be well understood in this country is the enormity of its biggest challenge — unemployment. Talk to most people and they understand that a whole range of social problems cascades down from joblessness.

Yet solutions seem distant. There have been jobs summits, investment indabas, social contracts and lots more, but none seem to make a decisive reduction in those frighteningly high numbers.

Worse is the instinct to blame migrants for the problem. The tilt towards increased xenophobia as foreigners are blamed for “taking your jobs” (to quote recent public remarks by a leading politician) in the run-up to the national elections in 2024 seems likely, if not probable.

I discussed this issue the other evening while playing snooker with my pal Rob, who suggested making wage payments to domestic workers tax deductible to make it more affordable to bring people into the system. But how can you get traction for ideas like this, he asked in despair? He had actually written to the president and others canvassing the idea.

One place you can bring ideas like these is a citizen’s assembly. The idea of bringing together a group of representative citizens to discuss and propose solutions to contentious issues has gained traction in the past 10 years. Experiences from many countries show that this form of democracy works. 

In Poland, citizen assemblies emerged from meetings in towns on participatory budgeting, by which residents decide on the expenditures from a portion of the city’s budget (or at least have an influence). Elsewhere they have solved big-ticket problems. In Ireland they led to two referendums on same-sex marriage and on abortion, topics long considered too divisive for politicians to touch.

It works like this. Identify a group of 50-100 people, broadly representative of the population (by gender, race, age, geography and socioeconomic status). When anybody looks at the citizen’s assembly they should be able to say, “I can see myself in that group”.

A citizen’s assembly in France on climate change measures selected the members of its assembly at random by telephone. Some 255,000 people were contacted. To the organisers’ surprise, 70% said they were willing to take part. The level of engagement once selected almost everywhere has been exceptionally high. Selected citizens understand the opportunity and importance of the role.

Politicians not welcome

Politicians of any hue are not welcome. It would defeat the whole purpose. Members of the citizens’ assembly think of what will be most beneficial for them as citizens, not from the perspective of the next election cycle but their entire lives, as well as lives of their children and grandchildren. This can lead to long-term perspectives that are often lacking in political debates.

In terms of duration, that will depend on the complexity of the issue, but they are usually spread over several weeks or months. Initially there is a learning phase, where participants hear from experts on all sides in a way that can be engaging and lead to practical and open discussions on the validity of what’s being proposed.

Once up and running, it is critical to create a positive atmosphere that is conducive to favourable conditions for open and inclusive conversations. The transparency of the process must be guaranteed.

In some cases, recommendations have been binding. In the Polish city of Gdańsk, for example, it was agreed that recommendations that gained the support of 80% of the members of the citizens’ assembly would be deemed binding. The level of 80% was agreed as almost a complete consensus — a supermajority.

To take on a wide and complex issue like unemployment can seem recklessly ambitious. I disagree. Policy transformation is not about big bang stuff. It is about small incremental steps taken all the time. Empowering a group of citizens to come up with practical ideas — like Rob’s — is the whole point. The scope needs to be limited, maybe sliced up and maybe done on a city or metro basis.

Politicians in this country often invoke “the people” to be on their side in various political battles, so why not give them a real voice? Nothing else seems to be working.

• Rynhart is senior specialist in employers’ activities with the International Labour Organisation, based in SA.