The quiet paper trail of erasure: What a lost payslip reveals about the neoliberal worker

A payslip is more than just a piece of paper; it is a symbol. It represents recognition, the formalisation of labour, and economic belonging. Yet for many - especially persons with disabilities in Namibia - this emblem remains elusive. The heartbreaking story of a young disabled woman who has never received a payslip is not only tragic but damning. It exposes the exclusionary underbelly of our labour economy.To grasp the magnitude of this injustice, we must first examine the origins of the payslip.It emerged during the Industrial Revolution, which signalled the end of agrarian society and entrenched wage work as the norm. As industrial workforces grew, capitalist firms developed tools to track and control labour: standardised hours, mechanised processes, and yes, the payslip. Initially handwritten in ledgers, these records evolved into mass-produced stubs and later digital entries. What was hailed as administrative progress was, in truth, a technology of control - used to monitor labour, measure productivity, manage costs, and extract profit. This system was never neutral. It embodied a worldview that valued human beings solely for their output, not for their humanity.Neoliberalism and the metrics of worthNeoliberalism intensified these dynamics in the late 20th century. Under the banner of “efficiency” and “economic growth,” governments deregulated labour markets, privatised public services, and eroded worker protections. The result? Employment became precarious. Value was reduced to quarterly returns. Workers were transformed into metrics. The payslip became more than a record of wages - it became a gatekeeper, the key to credit, housing, healthcare, and legal recognition. Without it, one becomes invisible to the systems that confer economic legitimacy.This brings us back to the young disabled woman who has never received a payslip.Her exclusion is not incidental - it is systemic. Despite constitutional guarantees of equality and Namibia’s commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, people with disabilities - especially women and girls - remain among the most economically marginalised in the country. The issue goes beyond stigma or employer bias, though these are significant. It is rooted in an economy that defines work through rigid norms of “efficiency” and “output,” leaving no space for alternative modes of working, contributing, or simply being.The tyranny of productivityIn a neoliberal labour market, disability is viewed as a deviation from the norm. With long hours and remote locations as the standard, those needing assistance are often excluded by design. This is not a flaw - it is a moral failure. Any system that equates dignity with productivity will inevitably marginalise those whose bodies and minds operate differently.Namibia’s disabled communities have long demanded inclusion, but we must be critical of the kind of inclusion being offered. Mere diversity - adding individuals to unchanged institutions -can replicate the same harms. A just economy must not only welcome difference but transform the structures that define value. We need a labour system that makes space for various forms of contribution and recognises the worth of care work, lived experience, and broader conceptions of what constitutes "work" in a society that seeks to value more than just the corner office.This transformation requires more than legislation - it demands a collective reckoning with the ideologies we've inherited. We must confront the ableist and capitalist foundations of our labour practices. We must ask why a slip of paper - or its digital equivalent - has come to define belonging. Why must dignity be tethered to economic productivity? Why is existence alone not enough?In Namibia, this reckoning must begin with policy, but it cannot end there. We need public employment schemes that actively prioritise persons with disabilities. We need universal basic income models that decouple survival from employment. We need accessible infrastructure, inclusive education, and workplaces built not just for compliance, but for genuine belonging. Above all, we must listen - truly listen - to disabled Namibians, who have long articulated their needs and aspirations.Paper is not progress - power must be sharedThe tragedy of never receiving a payslip is not merely about the absence of payment. It reflects the deeper experience of being unseen, uncounted, and unvalued. While a payslip may symbolise belonging in the formal economy, its absence lays bare a deeper truth: we live in a world that measures human worth through productivity and economic "utility."We must stop mistaking paper for progress. We cannot build a truly inclusive economy on an extractive and exclusionary foundation. What we need is a new social contract - one that affirms the dignity of every person, not because of what they produce, but because of who they are.Because this is not just about paper - it is about power.And that power must be shared.* Ndiilokelwa Nthengwe is an award-winning author, activist, tech CEO, executive director and executive producer, currently pursuing her postgraduate studies at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.

The quiet paper trail of erasure: What a lost payslip reveals about the neoliberal worker

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-04

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The quiet paper trail of erasure: What a lost payslip reveals about the neoliberal worker

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-04

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