Evaluation of the impact of the constitution on the development of labour law in South Africa : employment in the informal sector as a case study

Abstract

Informal employment in South Africa constitutes an important part of the economy. This sector provides employment for millions who cannot find employment in the formal sector. Despite the importance of this sector, government policies have failed to provide the much needed support for operators of the sector to increase their production. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (section 23) provides labour rights for everyone involved in employment relationship. But this has not been the case in relation to workers in the informal sector as depicted by the conditions of work and wages prevailing therein. Labour rights as contained in the Constitution has been the exclusive domain of workers in the formal sector. In this Paper, we seek to explore the impact of constitutional development on labour law in South Africa, with employment in the informal sector as our case study. This will be achieved by first analysing generally the status of the Constitution in relation to the development of labour law in the country. We shall, thereafter, proceed to examine the challenges faced by workers in the informal sector and then make a comparative analysis of the situation in other SADC countries. However, we also acknowledge the fact that due to the nature of this paper, want of time and financial constriants, the depth of this paper is by no way exhaustive especially as the aforementioned limitation makes it difficult for any form of empirical research. We shall, however, make extensive use of the available literature to strengthened our arguments in achieving the aims and objectives of the study.