Department of Labour and Strategic Partners to convene “Transition from Informal Economy to the Formal Economy”
The Department of Labour and its strategic partners will convene a national dialogue to develop a master plan and integrated national strategy on transition from informal economy to the formal economy.
The dialogue will be addressed by Department of Labour Director General, Thobile Lamati, and will be held at Durban’s Elangeni Hotel from 26-28 March under the theme: “the future of the Informal Economy: Towards a roadmap to facilitate Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy.”
The dialogue is line with implementing Resolution 204 (the transition from the informal to the formal economy) which was adopted in 2015 during the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Resolution 204 applies to all workers and economic units in the informal economy including own account workers, employers, wage workers, domestic workers, subcontracted workers, and members of cooperatives and social solidarity organisations.
Amongst others, Resolution 204 provides guidance to International Labour Organisation (ILO) member states on:
- The provision of rights, protections and incentives for informal workers and informal businesses and recognises the need for a friendly legal and policy environment.
- The promotion of the preservation and expansion of formal jobs, with the informalisation of formal jobs to be prevented.
- Paying special attention to those most vulnerable to decent work deficits including, women, youth, people with disability, elderly, indigenous, tribal, migrants, domestic workers, subsistence farmers and people living with HIV.
- Recognition of public spaces as work places and the need for regulated access by informal workers and informal businesses to public natural resources.
- The provision of social protection, including the extension of social insurance coverage, and occupational health and safety for informal workers and informal businesses.
The three-day dialogue will provide a platform for various stakeholders, including the International Labour Organisation (ILO), National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC), Department of Small Business Development (DSBD), KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, labour movement and business, to engage in robust engagements and emerge with an Integrated Provincial Master Plan and Integrated National Strategy for facilitating the transition from the informal to the formal economy.
Details of the dialogue are as follows:
Venue: Elangeni Hotel (Durban beach front)
Date: 26 - 28 March 2018
Time: 9am
Enquiries:
Teboho Thejane
Cell: 082 697 0694
