Labour Regulation in Sub-Saharan Africa

This chapter engages with the issue of labour regulation in Sub-Saharan Africa, describing variation in regulatory regimes and discussing how well they align with the realities and needs of different countries’ labour markets. We review evidence on the historical origins of regulation and how it has persisted over time, and map the contemporary prevalence of different forms of regulation. The connection between this regulation and countries’ employment contexts is then discussed, focusing on the issues of compliance and the effects of labour regulation. This discussion is informed by the use of three case studies with contrasting legal histories and employment contexts: Ghana, South Africa and Senegal. Despite the vast majority of employment being informal in most SSA countries, we find that much regulation still revolves around the formally employed. We argue that regulation needs to be more tailored around the particular characteristics of each country’s labour market.