Moving towards a formal economy : implementing recommendation 204 of the ILO in Lesotho

• Record Number: lesotho_v25_n2_a5
• Author: L. Matee
• DOI: 10.10520/EJC-ea18fa243
• Pages: 153-177
• Published date: 31 May 2017
• Date: 31 May 2017

MOVING TOWAR DS A FORM AL ECO NOMY:

IMPLEME NTING R ECOMMENDATIO N 204 OF THE ILO IN

LESOTHO

Matee L.*

Abstract

At its 104th session in 2015, the Inter national Labour

Conference adopted the reco mmendation de aling with

the trans ition fro m the informal to for mal economy,

namely the Trans ition from the Informa l to the Formal

Economy Recommendation (R 204). This

recommend ation is of gre at importance to the work

environment and to the future of work as it concerns

half of the glob al labour force and more than n inety

percent of the small and medium enterprises’ workers

and establishmen ts worldw ide who are working and/or

operating in c onditions of informality. The objective of

this p aper is to enquire whether the present day

economy of Lesotho is rea dy for formalisation.

INTROD UCTION

The International Labour Organisation

1

wa s establis hed in 1919 as

part of t he Treaty of Versaill es

2

which was adopted at the end of th e

First World War.

3

The driving f orces behind the creation of the ILO

were se curity, humanitaria n, politi cal and economic co nsiderations.

The ILO Constitution of 1919 recognises that universal and l asting

*LL.B (N. U.L), LL.M (U. K.Z.N). Lectur er, Faculty of La w, NUL.

1

The Inter national Labo ur Organisation i s herein referr ed to as the IL O.

2

Article 23 of the Treaty of Versailles sig ned on the 28 th June 1919.

3

http://ww w.ilo.or g/global /about -the-ilo /history /lang--en /index. htm

154 LL J Vol. 24 NO. 1

peace can only be achieved if based on social peace.

4

The

Constitution further recognises that the injustices prevalent in the

labour market a mounts to a threat to a universal and lasting peace;

5

this was also r eaffirmed by the Philadelphia Declaration of 1944.

6

Therefore, since its establishment, t he ILO has been strivi ng to

improve the condition of work ers. It does this through a number of

ways, including setting and monitoring inter national labour

standards.

7

The internatio nal labour standards are embodied in international

conventions and recommendati ons adopted by the ILO, both of

which are major s ources of international labour law. Like other

internation al tr eaties, the ILO co nventions are inte nded for

ratification by me mber states. By ratifying the conve ntions, member

states u ndertake t o discharge bi nding legal oblig ations contained in

the conve ntions.

8

On the other han d, unlike conventi ons, ILO

recommendations do not give ris e to b inding l egal oblig ations, they

are designed mainly for the pur poses of providing guide-lines for

national policies and action.

9

To date, t he ILO has passed a number

of conventio ns and recommendati ons.

The ILO's Governing Body has i dentified eight conventions as

‘fundamental’. These conventions cov er subjects that ar e considered

as fundamental principles and rights at work, namely freedom of

association and the effective recognition of the right to collective

bargaining, th e eliminatio n of all forms of forced or compulsory

4

See the P reamble of the ILO Constituti on 1919.

5

Ibid.

6

H.M Sead y and P.S. Benja min ‘The Right to Strike an d Freedom of

Association : An Internatio nal Perspecti ve’ (1990) 11 I LJ 439.

7

Ibid.

8

J. Dugard SC Internatio nal Law: South A frican Perspective (2011) p.41 6.

9

Supra not e 5 at p440.