Transformation must occur through natural attrition and availability of opportunities, not by dismissals or retrenchments of any group, including minorities.
This was a key message shared at a joint workshop of the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL), and the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
The workshop focussed on the recent amendments to the Employment Equity (EE) Act and setting of EE targets.
Held in Rustenburg in North West Province on Wednesday, the workshop is one of the first in a series that the department is hosting across the country in the coming weeks.
DEL Deputy Director of EE, Niresh Singh, said in implementing employment equity and affirmative action “race” alone should not be a qualification, but competency and ability should trump it.
“Since 1998 when the EE Act was introduced, we are still found wanting when it comes to equity implementation,” Singh said.
“We need more African and Coloured-owned businesses in place. The government needs to put programmes in place. We need to be aggressive – go a step further by empowering women-owned businesses and those owned by people with disability.”
“Our law in the main is about inclusivity. Yes, there may be unintended consequences,” he said.
The DEL’s 2023 Employment Equity national workshops are focused on the theme: “Real transformation makes business sense”.
The workshops aim to create awareness of the recently promulgated EE amendments, sector targets, regulations and the impact of EE on the labour market.
It also demonstrates the online EE system to incorporate the amendments and generate certificates of compliance.
The CCMA also shared case law on EE, reporting on employment equity and launch outcomes of the Commission for Employment Equity’s (CEE) Annual Report.
Singh advised employers to incorporate the country’s Economically Active Population (EAP) statistics to deal with the under-representation of various population groups at different occupational levels.
According to the CEE, the EAP is used as a benchmark to assist employers in analysing their workforce to determine the degree of under or over-representation of designated groups in the workforce.
It also guides employers in the setting of numerical goals and targets for the achievement of an equitable and representative workforce.
The CEE report revealed that according to Stats SA figures in 2021, Africans accounted for 79,4 percent of EAP compared to Coloureds at 9,1%, Indians at 2,7% and Whites at 8,8%.
Singh said it was not an “unreasonable request to ask employers to transform”.
The national series of workshops started on 18 July in Thohoyandou and will end in Durban on 29 August.
The EE workshops are targeted at employers or heads of organisations, academics, assigned senior managers, consultative forum members, human resource practitioners, trade unions, employees and other interested stakeholders.
More information on EE workshops will be available on the DEL’s website www.labour.gov.za including updates on schedules and venues.
