Abstract
The world of work is constantly changing and the notion of “work” itself is no longer what it used to be. Factors such as globalisation, increased international competition and technological advancements have led to the emergence of new forms of work and new empirical realities to the world of work. Furthermore, the informal economy is rapidly growing – thus creating a parallel economy to that of the formal economy. In developing countries such as South Africa, work in the informal category is becoming the norm rather than the exception. A large proportion of workers in this category comprises of women workers from previously disadvantages groups. This indicates linkages between work in the informal economy and factors such as poverty and gender inequality. Informal economy workers are often not recognised as “workers”, are primarily characterised by a lack of labour and social protection and are often referred to as being part of the unorganised sector due to being unrecognised and unregulated. These workers are specifically excluded from labour law protection, as such legislation primarily applies to workers in formal workplaces and requires an identifiable employer-employee relationship. This is why labour law is considered to be in crisis. It is failing to protect this particularly vulnerable category of workers. The larger the informal economy becomes, the greater the need for protection. It is therefore imperative that labour law protection be extended to these workers. It is, however, insufficient to simply extend the traditional-employment regulatory framework to informal economy workers. What is required is the development of an equally effective means of regulation that is innovative and tailored to the specific needs of workers in this category. This minor dissertation focuses on informal traders as workers in the informal economy who lack labour law protection. These workers face a number of challenges because of their nonrecognition as workers. They work in extremely adverse conditions due to inadequate infrastructure, while the current framework governing informal traders in South Africa is fundamentally fragmented and are punitive, rather than enabling, in nature. Although it is imperative that labour law protection be extended to these workers, this cannot be done without the development of enabling legislation specific to informal traders. Worker organisation is of significant importance in this regard as it will promote awareness of labour rights, as well as decent work. Additionally, this study considers the position of informal traders in the foreign jurisdiction of India in order to establish best practices with regard to these workers.
LL.M. (Labour Law)