Covid-19 and the right to social security for self-employed and informal workers in South Africa
| dc.contributor.author | Le-Ann Cupido | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-12-09T11:02:53Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-12-09T11:02:53Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The year 2020 brought the world to a standstill when the Covid-19 pandemic was declared. Like in many other nations all over the world, one of the most drastic forms of intervention was the implementation of a national lockdown within South Africa. This in essence meant that all nonessential places of work were closed for business. As a result of this lockdown, those in the informal and self-employed economy found themselves unable to work and unable to gain an income. Job and income losses also occurred within the formal economy; however, an important distinction is that those within the informal economy had no protection under the available social security framework. The South African Government put measures in place to assist those impacted by the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic, however it was found that those measures were based on the existing social security framework that inherently disadvantaged those in the informal and self-employed economy. There are various international and regional instruments that are in support of extending social protection to the informal and self-employed economy. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the vulnerabilities of those in the informal and self-employed economy were exacerbated as they found themselves unable to provide for the basic needs of themselves and their families and as a result suffered the most. This study therefore focuses on the need to extend the right to social security towards the informal and self-employed economy. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10566/21556 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | University of the Western Cape | |
| dc.subject | Atypical Workers | |
| dc.subject | Covid-19 Pandemic | |
| dc.subject | Informal Workers | |
| dc.subject | Informal Sector/Economy | |
| dc.subject | Social Protection | |
| dc.title | Covid-19 and the right to social security for self-employed and informal workers in South Africa | |
| dc.type | Thesis |