Speech by the Minister of Labour, Membathisi Mdladlana, at Media Launch of Chapter Three of
The Employment Equity Act
Pretoria, 23 November 1999
On the 1st of December 1999, Chapter III of the
Employment Equity Act will be promulgated into law. This Chapter requires employers to
take certain affirmative action measures in respect of black people, women and people with
disabilities to achieve equity in the workplace.
Chapter III is the second major pillar of the Employment Equity
Act to come into effect. The first was Chapter Two, which was launched earlier this year
on National Women's Day, 9 August, and which prohibits unfair discrimination in the
workplace.
The Employment Equity Act is, as I said on 9 August, a
groundbreaking Act. It is a victory in entrenching the right to equality enshrined in our
constitution. It is a critical tool in our efforts to build a non-racial, non-sexist and
prosperous democracy.
The reality is that millions of our people continue to suffer the
aftermath of apartheid discrimination which denied black people, women and people with
disabilities access to opportunities for education, employment, promotion and wealth
creation in our country.
The figures speak for themselves. Of the Economically Active
Population (EAP) in employment, 78.73% are black people. In management only 43.63% are
black people according to the 1996 census data supplied by Statistics SA. The Department
of Labour's own baseline survey shows an even worse representation of black managers
(14.9%).
Women comprise 39.85% of the employed EAP and only 27.45% of
management. Employers do not currently keep records of people with disabilities in their
employment. The Department of Labour baseline survey showed that only 16 companies out of
almost 600 respondents could report any statistics on people with disabilities.
We know that in many workplaces these "designated
groups", as they are referred to in the Act, still face perhaps invisible or
unspoken, but nevertheless very real barriers to advancement and opportunity. The reality
is that racism and sexism continue to pervade our workplaces and indeed our society and is
often still deeply embedded within the working environment.
As government, we have an obligation and a mandate to change this
situation and indeed to hasten the pace of this change to entrench equality in our
workplaces. This is where Chapter Three of the Employment Equity Act comes in. It is
premised on the understanding that prohibiting unfair discrimination alone will not level
the playing field in respect of race, gender or disability in the South African labour
market.
In terms of Chapter Three, employers in our country will have to
take special steps to ensure that their workforces are more representative of all our
people and that black people, women and people with disabilities are able to penetrate the
glass ceiling of senior management and are able to contribute to and feel comfortable with
the culture in our enterprises.
With this in mind, the Act requires that certain designated
employers do the following:
- Consult with their employees;
- Conduct an analysis of employment equity policies and practices as
well as do a profile of the company's workforce;
- Prepare and implement an employment equity plan
- Report to the Department of Labour on progress made in
implementing its employment equity plan.
Designated employers include the public service, municipalities,
employers who employ 50 or more employees and have a turnover above a certain threshold
and who want to tender for government contracts.
In terms of the Employment Equity Act, employers who employ 150
or more employees will have to report for the first time by 1 June 2000. Employers who
employ less than 150 employees or who want to volunteer to report for purposes, inter
alia, to become eligible to secure government contracts, will have to report by 1 December
2000.
Regulations and Code of Good Practice
I am proud to announce today that the Department of Labour,
assisted by the Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) has done its utmost to ensure that
employers and employees will be enabled and supported in implementing this Chapter.
We have striven hard over the past year to create a conducive
environment to enable employers to implement the legislation in an efficient and effective
manner which does not place undue burden upon them. As I have said on numerous occasions,
I am convinced that the implementation of the Act and the tapping of all our human
potential makes good business sense and I am encouraged by reports that many in business
have already embraced the Act.
The Department of Labour will provide employers with the
necessary support and tools to facilitate its implementation. Today, I will be releasing
to the public for the first time the following key regulations:
- An official Summary of the Act which employers are required to
display in their workplaces. Copies will be available in all official languages in due
course.
- A Code of Good Practice on the Preparation, Implementation and
Monitoring of Employment Equity Plans. This Code will significantly assist employers and
employees as to how to apply the Employment Equity Act.
- General Administrative Regulations which cover the practical and
logistical matters that employers need to know to implement the Act.
- A set of prescribed forms including the Employment Equity Report
and the Income Differential Statement for the Employment Conditions Commission (ECC).
- A set of three Annexures to the regulations which provide
guidelines on the demographics of the economically active population and on how to
identify occupational categories and levels. These latter two annexures will assist to
ensure uniformity when employers report to the Department.
All these documents have been the subject of intense debate and
scrutiny by the Commission for Employment Equity. This Commission, headed by an
independent chairperson, Prof Mapule Ramashala, includes two representatives each from
organised labour, organised business, the community constituency at NEDLAC and the state.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank and commend them
for their efforts.
User's Guide, website and video
Chairperson, what I have announced is not all that we have to
present today. To ensure that the information is understandable and user friendly, I would
also like to release today our User's Guide on Preparing an Employment Equity Plan and
launch the Department of Labour's Employment Equity Website.
We believe that the Website, which will become operational at the
conclusion of the press conference, will be a place where employers and workers, labour
lawyers, labour consultants and other interested parties can get first hand and
authoritatively the necessary guidance and resources to assist them to implement the
Employment Equity Act.
The Website will be an on-line resource centre. It contains the
regulations I have referred to, a step-by-step guide on how to draw up an employment
equity plan and frequently asked questions.
It also gives Website users the opportunity for users of the
Website to ask questions, which we will answer. They can even address questions to myself,
should they so desire.
The Website, when fully developed, will enable employers to
access reporting forms electronically and submit them electronically to the Department. I
have reason to believe that this will serve as a bonus to those employers having the
necessary technology.
Finally, we are also releasing today, a User's Guide on Preparing
an Employment Equity Plan and a video entitled "Getting Employment Equity Working for
You". These are also intended to be tools to assist employers and employees.
These materials will not only enable employers and workers to
comply with Chapter Three of the Act but, more importantly, will support their own success
so that we can build on our country's diversity and use it to our competitive advantage.
However, the responsibility now shifts to employers and workers.
It is up to you now to take this key we have given you and open doors in your workplaces.
I challenge employers and workers together to formulate effective
strategies towards employment equity in our workplaces. We have not dictated to you what
should be in the plans. Each plan should be unique and tailored to suit the workplace's
needs and conditions.
It is critical for workers to actively participate in all the
processes relating to employment equity for the success of transformation and reform of
our companies. Similarly, it requires a particular commitment and buy-in from top
management to support and champion the successful implementation of the Act.
I believe that the work that we have released today is a result
of social partnership. It arises out of the negotiation process at NEDLAC that produced
the law that we have and the work of the Commission for Employment Equity, which has
assisted tremendously with the Codes and Regulations.
Let us now move that social partnership to the company and
workplace level and develop our plans in a participatory process. Let us break away from
some of our adversarial modes to implement this critical statute. Utilise workplace equity
and affirmative action forums to draft your plans and monitor the implementation of
employment equity.
The Department of Labour, through the documentation we have
produced and through our offices spread throughout the country, will be there to assist
you.
I thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Labour
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