Employment equity amendments in 2019 – Minister

Legalbrief Today Issue 4807

The Department of Employment & Labour is aiming to table amendments to the Employment Equity Act before the end of the year. A Cape Times report notes this was revealed by Employment & Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi in his written response to the DA, which inquired about the punitive measures the government intended taking against employers who did not meet employment equity targets. ‘It is important to highlight that in order to expedite the pace of transformation and address non-compliance with the requirements of the Employment Equity Act, there are proposed amendments in the Bill, which include progressive measures that will be undertaken by the government to address non-compliance. The Amendment Bill will be tabled in Parliament for deliberation probably before the end of this year,’ Nxesi said. He said the Amendment Bill would empower him to regulate sector specific numerical employment equity targets, which should accelerate transformation in various economic sectors. ‘The current self-regulated employment equity targets did not yield positive results over the 21 years of the Employment Equity Act.’ The Amendment Bill provides for the issuing of an employment equity certificate of compliance, as a prerequisite for accessing state contracts and to do business with the state. Once passed into law, employers who were compliant with law would receive an equity certificate of compliance as a precondition to access state contracts worth R1.2bn.

Full Cape Times report (subscription needed)