The National Employers’ Association of South Africa (NEASA) and Afrikaans business organisation Sakeliga have jointly announced their decision to take legal action
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The National Employers’ Association of South Africa (NEASA) and Afrikaans business organisation Sakeliga have jointly announced their decision to take legal action against the recently implemented Employment Equity Amendment Act (EEAA).
This follows the government’s implementation of new employment equity targets under the amended Employment Equity Act (EEAA). These targets apply to 18 key sectors and require certain employers, particularly in senior roles, to align their workforce with the country’s racial and gender demographics.
Following the amendment of the act, the government emphasised that it is essential for designated employers with 50 or more employees, including state entities and regardless of their employee count, to immediately review and align their Employment Equity plans with the five-year sector-specific targets.
In a statement to the media this week, the two organisations criticised the amended legislative framework as “unconstitutional, impractical, and harmful.” They confirmed their plans to seek an urgent interdict to suspend its implementation.
"We will launch immediate joint legal action, including seeking an interdict against the operation of the regulations, targets and/or the act; and we will continue to oppose the EEAA and the hiring quotas until they are reversed or otherwise rendered null and void," the statement read.
The two organisations further accused government of infringing on the "freedom of businesses, owners, and employees to freely associate and trade,".
"The state is acting unconstitutionally because it makes totalitarian infringements on the freedom of businesses, owners, and employees to freely associate and trade.
"Under the guise of ‘transformation’, the EEAA insists on a stifling stagnation – that first all commercial activity and later, by implication, social activity should be conducted strictly in specified racial and other demographic ratios".
They urged businesses to obtain proper employment law advice and assistance based on their individual business circumstances.
"It is important for businesses to obtain proper employment law advice and assistance based on their individual business circumstances.
"Employers should seek to minimise their legal risks while protecting their businesses, employees, and clients as much as possible in the face of such unconstitutional, unimplementable, and harmful legislation,".
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