South Africa’s Labour Law journey through the lens of International Labour Standards

Pretoria, South Africa, (ILO News) - The International Labour Organization (ILO) participated in the 2025 Labour Law Conference hosted by the University of South Africa (UNISA) College of Law under the theme

New Trends, Developments & Reflections in the South African Employment and Labour Law in the last thirty years.

Representing the ILO Director for the Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini (ILO DWT/CO–Pretoria), Amanda Mejía-Cañadas ILO’s, International Labour Standards and Labour Law Specialist, delivered a keynote address reflecting on South Africa’s recent labour law history through the prism of the ILO’s century-long commitment to social justice.

In her address, Ms. Mejía-Cañadas traced the intertwined histories of the ILO and South Africa, noting that the country’s re-entry into the Organization in 1994 marked a historic turning point after decades of exclusion during the apartheid era. She recalled the ILO’s consistent stance against discriminatory laws and practices, notably through the 1964 Declaration concerning the Policy of Apartheid updated in 1981, 1988 and 1991, and the work of the Fact-Finding and Conciliation Commission on Freedom of Association in the late 1980s.

The keynote also reflected on South Africa’s progress since 1994, highlighting key milestones such as the Labour Relations Act of 1995, the Children’s Act of 2005, and the Regulations on Hazardous Work by Children (2010) — reforms which the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) has noted with satisfaction, i.e., instances when the measures taken, following comments made by the CEACR on a specific issue, contribute to achieve fuller compliance with obligations under the respective Conventions.

The UNISA Labour Law Conference brought together labour law scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to reflect on three decades of reform and the future of labour regulation in a changing world of work. The ILO reaffirmed its commitment to supporting inclusive legal frameworks, tripartism, and decent work for all.