By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Minister of Employment and Labour has published the much-anticipated notice identifying proposed national economic sectors and employment equity numerical targets under the Employment Equity Act (EEA).
Broadly, the proposed targets appear to push companies to be more demographically representative, especially in top and senior management positions.
The department did not, however, publish an explanatory note with the gazette explaining how the targets are to be read.
The document instead show a barrage of percentages split across:
- 18 industries/sectors
- 4 skill levels per industry (Top management; Senior management; Professional; Skilled)
- 4 racial groups per skill level (plus a total for “Black”, which includes Indian, Coloured and African)
- 2 genders (Male; Female)
- 10 regional breakdowns for all of the above (9 provinces and national).
Each sector breakdown features a workforce profile for 2022, which is ostensibly what the targets are set against, although this is not explicitly stated.
The Notice determines demographics as follows:
- The “National EAP” applies to employers “conducting their business/operations nationally”.
- The “Provincial EAP” applies to employers “conducting their business/operations in a particular province”.
- Employers cannot use the national-and provincial demographics (EAP) at the same time.
- Designated employers must choose one demographic (i.e, either national or provincial) and utilise the chosen demographics for the duration of the employment equity plan (the “EE Plan”) that is in line with the 5-year sector targets.
Employers must also implement the 5-year numerical goals and annual targets set out for Semi-Skilled and Unskilled levels in the EE Plans, which are not covered by the sector targets, by utilising the same demographics of the EAP that they have chosen, whether national or provincial.
The Constitutional Court has already stated that the Constitution does not take issue with EE Plans that rigidly allocate positions along the lines of race and gender, provided that the EE Plan provides for certain specific deviations or exclusions.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has hit-out against a newly introduced race quota law which he says only discriminates along the basis of colour.
Steenhuisen was speaking on Saturday during a public engagement with the residents of Chatsworth’s Ward 73 ahead of next week’s by-election there.
His campaign in the area comes a week after ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa, along with the national working committee, launched a campaign in Chatsworth ahead of the by-elections.
He said if applied in KZN the quota method of employment, known as the Employment Equity Act, would result in severe levels of unemployment among the Indian and similar communities of colour.
“The ANC wants to limit the sheer of Indian people working in skilled positions at every company in the retail industry which is a big industry here in KZN to 3.6% for men and 3.1% for women. I would say nearly every single person who’s here has an Indian employment rater of more than 3.6%. Now if we let this law stand, every one of those businesses could essentially be driven into bankruptcy or forced to close their doors through fines and punishment from this government,” Steenhuisen said.
Steenhuisen has called for mass rejection of the law which he said they will be challenging in court.
“Because the only way we’re going to unite and defeat these racist laws that are now on the table, the DA is preparing a court challenge to them because we believe they are fundamentally unconstitutional is by standing united.”
Chatsworth was a township established in 1959 to segregate the Indian population and create a buffer between the white suburbs of Durban to the north and the black townships to the south.
“Nearly 100 years ago, a man was born in the small town of Schweizer-Reneke in ‘North West Province. He was the fourth of six children, with family roots going back to the Indian state of Gujarat. His name was Ahmed Kathrada,” Steenhuisen said.
“Uncle Kathy, as many would later call him, went on to play a seminal role in the fight against racial segregation. In fact, even as a teenager, Kathrada fought against the so-called ‘Indian Ghetto Act’, which sought to restrict where Indian South Africans could live, trade, and own land.
“He was jailed for his defiance campaign before he was even 20 years old. Many years later, he was imprisoned for life as part of the Rivonia Trial. He spent 18 years on Robben Island. Im sharing this story with you because I’d like all of us here to consider what Uncle Kathy would say about the ANC’s new racial quota law.”