_: The Department of Labour (DoL) is devising a plan to recognise and reward companies that comply with the implementation of the Employment Equity Act (EEA).
Department of Labour’s Deputy Director at EE Directorate, Masilo Lefika said the intention in the future was to reward and encourage companies that do better in their implementation of EE plans.
“The stick approach is often not a solution. We do not want to resort to carrying a ‘death rope’ because our intention is not to kill business,” Lefika said. He said EE implementation was not a once-off activity, but a process.
The Department of Labour plans to introduce annual EE Awards in recognition of employers that advance employment equity in their organisations. The Awards – it is hoped would reverse within organisations what the 2012-2013 Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) Report called – the ‘Deep hole’ syndrome whereby “things get darker as you go deeper”.
Lefika said despite the recent Commission for Employment Equity Report that showed an appalling picture on the implementation of the EE legislation, the Director General’s Review showed that there were employers that were trying very hard to realise the objectives of the EE in their organisations.
He was speaking in Kimberley, Northern Cape today (August 20) during an EE workshop. This year the department is conducting the workshops targeting specific sectors in each province. In the Northern Cape the focus is on the Agriculture, Construction and Wholesale Sectors.
The EEA is currently undergoing amendments in Parliament. A formal process towards the changes started in 2010 to identify areas for review and amendment in the EE Act for the first time since its promulgation in 1998.
The objective of the amendments to the EEA is to give effect to fundamental constitutional rights such as the – right to equality, fair labour practices and protection against unfair discrimination. It is also intended to strengthen the implementation and enforcement mechanism of the Act and ensure equal payment for work of equal value.
The Department of Labour hopes that by the end of the national roadshows in September 2013 participants should: be well informed about the status of EE in their respective Sector(s); be able to do online reporting successfully; and be well informed about the critical areas of the EEA amendments.
The department wishes to remind employers that the 2013 EE reporting season will begin next month. The submission season will open for both manual and electronic submissions. Manual submissions close on the 1st October 2013 while on online submissions will close on 15 January 2014.
Contact:
Page Boikanyo
Departmental Spokesman
Cell: 082 809 3195