This is one of the new laws government wants to use to enforce transformation in South Africa
Government has expressed concern at the slow pace of transformation in the workplace.
In a statement released on Friday (6 September), cabinet said the latest Commission for Employment Equity report shows ‘disappointingly low compliance levels with the Employment Equity Act’, which is aimed at addressing the apartheid legacy of imbalances and inequalities in the country’s labour market.
“In an effort to strengthen the Employment Equity Act, government will be tabling the Employment Equity Amendment Bill in parliament,” it said.
“The bill increases fines for contravening the act and makes it compulsory that employers who want to do business with the government provide an employment equity compliance certificate.”
These are in line with the ‘harsh measures’ promised by labour minister Thulas Nxesi, who said that government would be doing more to ensure transformation in South African workplaces.
Following the release of the employment equity report at the end of August, Nxesi said that those who do not comply with the laws of the country must ‘face the music and be punished’.
“We are not just talking about a single solution, but a range of solutions to deal with problems in the economy and workplace”.
Transformation
The Commission for Employment Equity report showed that 65.6% of top management positions are occupied by white South Africans.
Black Africans occupied 76% of the positions in government and whites occupied 69.6% of the positions in the private sector.
The report shows that South Africa’s economically active population is broken down as follows:
- Africans – 78.0%
- Coloureds – 9.6%
- Indians – 2.7%
- Whites – 9.0%
Commission for Employment Equity chairperson, Tabea Kabinde, said that a broad level, the trends continue to paint a picture of a very slow, but steady pace of transformation, especially at the top four occupational levels.
“We expect that when employers are slow in transforming, worker activism will nudge the employers,” she said.
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