President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday signed into law the Employment Equity Amendment Bill of 2020 - a measure trade union Solidarity said it planned to fight in court.
This was announced by Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya during a media briefing on Wednesday.
According to Magwenya, the bill seeks to progress the transformation of South Africa’s workforce by “setting equity targets for economic sectors and geographical regions, and requiring enterprises to develop transformation plans”, with new measures to also promote workplace diversity and equality.
On May 17, 2022, the bill 2020 was passed by Parliament.
The Bill amends the Employment Equity Act of 1998 (Act No 55 of 1998) with new measures to promote diversity and equality in the workplace.
Among its key provisions, the Amendment Bill empowers the Minister of Employment and Labour to set employment-equity targets for economic sectors, as well as regions where transformation is lagging. The amendment Bill also empowers the Minister of Employment and Labour to regulate compliance criteria to issue Compliance Certificates as per Section 53 of the Employment Equity Act.
“The amended Act allows the Minister of Employment and Labour to set regional targets given that racial diversity in South Africa often has regional differences,” Magwenya said.
The law requires employers with more than 50 employees to submit employment equity plans for their companies, spelling out how they will achieve these targets. Employers are then required to submit annual reports to the Department of Employment and Labour.
In the area of remuneration, the law requires employers to pay workers equal pay for equal work. The Bill now provides clear definitions of discrimination and sets out what workers can do when facing such discrimination - including lodging grievances with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, or the Labour Courts.
“Companies seeking to do business with the state will be required to submit a certificate from the Department confirming that they are in compliance with the Employment Equity Act and its objectives, and that they do not pay their employees less than the national minimum wage,” Magwenya said.
As part of ensuring the employment equity objectives become reality, the law now compels labour inspectors to inspect workplaces and to issue employers with compliance orders. The Department of Employment and Labour has committed to increase the number of labour inspectors and health and safety inspectors who will enforce compliance.
It was previously announced by the government that a new EE online assessment system would be created to monitor the implementation of sector targets. The assessment will be done annually. The system would allow employers to report on their planned targets and how they intend to achieve those
Solidarity said in a statement that on August 23, 2022 it had already written to the president, pointing out that the amendments were unconstitutional. Solidarity said it had also obtained legal opinion which confirmed this and it had made submissions to this effect to Parliament.
Solidarity CEO Dr Dirk Hermann said, “The president is, therefore, aware of the fact that Solidarity would go to court should he sign this Act into law. This is precisely what he has now done, and we are now preparing for court.”
Hermann said, “This Act which imposes race targets on all sectors will have dire consequences for our economy. New definitions of designated employers will force small businesses to remain small and will cost thousands of jobs.
“Any promotion opportunities for those fortunate enough to keep their jobs will be completely stopped. This will mean that the skills exodus would merely be accelerated and South Africa’s economy – like its public service – will become increasingly trapped in a spiral of inefficiency, contraction and imminent collapse. The state’s obsession with race must be opposed at all costs. We simply cannot afford it not to do so”.
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