An academic from Nelson R Mandela School of Law, at the University of Fort Hare, Dr Nombulelo Lubisi-Bizana, said the State is obliged to extend social security to excluded workers, especially those in the informal transport sector.

Dr Lubisi-Bizana remarked, “Can we extend social insurance – and how soon that can be done"?

“Yes, it can be done!" she said: “South Africa's laws are built on standard employment relationships. This model does not reflect the reality of informal work," she emphasised.

Dr Lubisi-Bizana was delivering a presentation titled: “Extending Unemployment Insurance to informal Transport Workers in South Africa: A Legal, Institutional and International Standards Analysis".

This was during the Department of Employment and Labour's Employment Standards conference to discuss labour market inspections, enforcement, and protection of vulnerable workers. The theme of the conference held in Durban is: “Compliance Leads to South Africa's Prosperity & Development".

The academic said South Africa's legal definitions and institutions are not designed to recognise the informal sector. She argued that the inclusion of the informal sector in social benefit coverage was long overdue. She said over 65 percent of passengers were carried by informal transport, and this sector matters in that it provides direct and indirect employment to 600,000 workers, including drivers, queue marshals, vehicle washers, mechanics, and street vendors of ranks.

“While the formal employment experiences a decline, particularly post  -COVID-19, informal transport jobs have become increasingly important for the economy," she said.

Dr Lubisi-Bizana said that despite its centrality and mobility, the industry has been operating with weak regulations. She emphasised the weak employer and employee relations, and limited compliance with labour standards, saying this was because of informalisation. She said work in the informal transport sector was characterised by precarious working conditions, including low wages, absence of contracts, accidents, and personal violence.

“Covid-19 has exposed structural inequalities," Dr Lubisi-Bizana said. Taxi drivers, e-hailing drivers lost their lives and could not claim TERS and the unemployment insurance fund because they were treated as independent contractors.

In a call to action, Dr Lubisi-Bizana said: “The informal economy is not going away. But our legal exclusion can and must. We must extend unemployment insurance and other related benefits (compensation for occupational injuries and diseases). This is not only desirable but urgent". The Employment standards (ES) ends tomorrow.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Teboho Thejane

Departmental Spokesperson

082 697 0694/ teboho.thejane@labour.gov.za

-ENDS-

Issued by: Department of Employment and Labour

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