Minister: carrot and stick approach needed for employment equity
As self-imposed targets are clearly not working, perhaps amendments to the Employment Equity Act will ensure transformation in the workplace
Labour minister Mildred Oliphant believes the introduction of a carrot and stick approach will improve compliance by business with the Employment Equity Act and expedite the pace of transformation in the labour market. This approach is embodied in the proposed amendments to the act and its regulations, which were released for public comment in September last year. The proposed amendments will empower the labour minister to set sector-specific numerical targets for employment equity after consultation with the sectoral stakeholders, and on the advice of the Commission for Employment Equity. There is also a proposal that an Employment Equity Act employment equity certificate be a prerequisite to access state contracts. Replying to a question in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) by ANC MP by Moses Mhlanga, Oliphant said that the pace of transformation of the workplace has been too slow “Even after 24 years of democracy and 20 years of the Employment Equity Act, it has become evi...
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