Payday : business as usual or a new dawn rising for persons with disabilities in the workplace

Abstract

The article examines and clarify the legal obligations of labour market (as part of mainstream society) to effectively promote and protect the right to employment for persons with disabilities in South Africa. In this regard the article contextualises the understanding of disability within an international and national context by outlining the legal obligations of employers under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the South African national legal framework and policy directives pertaining to the right to employment of persons with disabilities. The article submits that the success of realising the right to employment and work of persons with disabilities will only be measured through the implementation of international obligations, the national legal framework and policy directives. In order to measure the progress in realising the right to work of persons with disabilities, the importance of collecting and maintaining disability data as statistical evidence is highlighted.