Free State Employment Equity Roadshow calls for the intensification of compliance mechanisms
The Department of Labour hosted one of a series of workshops on Employment Equity in Bloemfontein yesterday. These workshops are aimed at fostering employment equity (EE) compliance in the workplaces.
Employers from different sectors in the province are therefore invited to get a glimpse of how we are fairing in so far as matters pertaining to Employment Equity Act, and the compliance thereof, are concerned.
The areas of focus during this workshop were as follows:
- To publicise the Amended Code of Good Practice on the Preparation and Implementation of the EE plans,
- To encourage employers to submit EE reports online,
- To publicise the 17th CEE Annual Report and the 2016 EE Public Register, and
- To present current CCMA case law on Unfair Discrimination.
According to the 17th CEE Annual Report, employers in the Free State province account for no more than 741 of the 26 255 Employment Equity Reports submitted to the Department of Labour nationwide.
This is a mere 2.8% of the national statistics. The province is the second which is yet to break the barriers for transformation in Top Management positions with 72% white representation after Western Cape Province which is lying at 76.6 percentage point. Africans, Coloureds, Indians, and foreign nationals constitute 24.1%, 2.0%, 1.3% and 0.5% respectively.
Meanwhile, Persons With Disabilities only constitute 1.1% nationwide on senior management positions. Whites dominate in all levels from Top Management, to Senior Management, and a gradual improvement is only noticed from the Professionally Qualified level in the Free State. Africans account for 45.5% of representation whilst their white counterparts account for 46.7% with Coloureds Indians and Foreign National accounting for 5%, 1.1% and 1.7% respectively on this level.
“These statistics look worrisome and call upon on all of us to join hands in changing the status quo for the better. This workshop is meant for all of us to reflect on the road we have travelled thus far and the strides we have made as far as EE matters are concerned.
Looking at these statistics, one can safely conclude that we are not really making in-roads in transforming our workplaces,” said Nomfundo Douw-Jack – Chief Director: Provincial Operations for Free State.
“That therefore begs the question as to what are you doing as employers to transform your workplaces. You are therefore called upon to play your part in ensuring compliance to the EE Act.
The Department of Labour is just one runner in this relay race, once we have ran our mile we need to find you somewhere along the race to take the baton and complete the race for all of us to emerge triumphant at the end of it all,” she pleaded.
Ms. Douw-Jack went further to announce that similar workshops will be rolled out in other regions of the Free State province to afford employers in those regions an opportunity to reflect on their individual and collective contributions to this undesirable state of affairs. This will be done with a view of engaging and assisting one another to ensure improvement and ultimate compliance to the EE Act.
“Information Sessions will also be organised with labour consultants to educate them on all labour legislations. This will be done in conjunction with the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to ensure inclusivity in our approach.
We also call upon any of the employers who may not have the technical know how on the compilation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the EE Plan to request assistance free of charge from the department,” she concluded.
Meanwhile, the EE Online and Manual reporting season opens on 1 September 2017 and closes on 15 January 2018 and 2 October 2017 respectively.
Enquiries:
Josial Ramokoena
Cell: 083 292 4018
E-mail: josial.ramokoena@labour.gov.za
