The legal implications of harmonising labour laws in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region
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Authors
Okharedia, Akhabue Anthony
Issue Date
2012-08-14
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Collective bargaining , Compulsory labour , Discrimination in the work environment , Forced labour , Freedom of association , Harmonisation of labour law , International labour standards , Occupational health and safety environment , Southern African Development Community countries , SADC
Alternative Title
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to explore the need for, and the legal implications of, harmonising labour laws in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Chapter One highlights a number of factors that call for the harmonisation of labour laws in the SADC region and discusses some of the reasons why labour laws are not well developed in the region.
The influence of globalisation on labour standards in southern Africa and the influence of regionalism on the harmonisation of labour laws are discussed at length. The inference that could be drawn from this discussion is that for a regionalisation process in southern Africa to be successful, there is an urgent need to harmonise the region’s labour law system. This thesis confirms that Southern Africa has many lessons to learn from the regional harmonisation of labour law in the European Economic Community and the current European Union.
The implementation of international labour standards in southern Africa is investigated. The main areas examined include (1) freedom of association, (2) collective bargaining, (3) forced labour and (4) discrimination. The findings of this investigation show that there is no uniformity in the implementation of International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards in the SADC region and, therefore, it is recommended labour law should be harmonised in terms of ILO standards.
In respect of the benefits to be derived from the harmonisation process, an empirical investigation was conducted in the SADC region and the following is recommended: the harmonisation of labour law in the SADC region will help with the implementation of ILO standards, protection of workers against the economic power of employers in the workplace and maintaining similar benefits for migrants in the region.
Description
Citation
Okharedia, Akhabue Anthony (2012) The legal implications of harmonising labour laws in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/7762>