The department of employment and labour has agreed to an amendment to the Employment Equity Amendment Bill that requires the minister to consult with economic sectors when setting numerical targets for them to achieve employment equity.
This was one of the very few amendments the department was willing to accept at the end of public hearings on the bill by parliament’s portfolio committee on employment and labour, which still has to deliberate on the bill.
The objective of the amendment bill is to promote employment equity at all occupational levels of the workplace. The employment and labour minister, Thulas Nxesi, will set numerical targets for a sector and may also set different numerical targets for different occupational levels, subsectors or regions within a sector.
The department has agreed to an amendment that the minister may, after consulting the relevant sectors and with the advice of the Commission of Employment Equity, set numerical targets for any national economic sector identified by the act to ensure the equitable representation of suitably qualified people from designated groups at all occupational levels in the workplace.
Nxesi said at a committee meeting on Tuesday that consultations with economic sectors have been under way since 2019. The department’s chief director for labour relations, Thembinkosi Mkalipi, noted that by March 2021, 16 economic sectors had been consulted with two outstanding — the manufacturing and public administration sectors.
Members of the committee were concerned about the meaning of consultation and what would happen if no agreement could be reached with a sector on the targets. Nxesi said the aim is to reach consensus but if this is not possible, the government has to be able to make a decision. He gave the assurance that there will not be unilateral decision-making and that views will be taken into account.
Companies that don’t comply with the targets and don’t have justifiable reasons — as defined in the amendment bill — for their failure will not get an employment equity certificate and will not be able to do business with the state. Small employers with less than 50 employees will be exempt from having to submit employment equity reports, reducing their regulatory burden.
To get an employment equity certificate, small companies will only have to comply with the Employment Equity Act with regard to unfair discrimination and with the National Minimum Wage Act.
Nxesi said the bill is necessary because of the slow pace of change with regard to employment equity and that the time has come to take action. Reports by the Commission for Employment Equity have highlighted the poor representation of black people at top and senior management level.
Mkalipi told MPs that two socioeconomic assessments on the bill have been conducted. These were used for internal government processes and there is no need for them to be published.
He insisted that a numerical target is not the same as a quota, which is rigid and has a mandatory outcome, whereas targets are aspirational, provided that attempts are made to achieve the goals where reasonably practicable. Whereas a quota would impose penalties for missed outcomes, employers under the proposed numerical target system would be allowed to miss them if they are able to produce a justifiable reason, as defined by the bill.
Mkalipi said that under the proposed amendment, employers will have the power to set their own, annual employment equity targets, which will aim to achieve the sector’s numerical target over three to five years.
He dismissed arguments made during the public hearings that the bill is unconstitutional.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.