DA's court case against employment quotas labelled anti-transformation by.
Image: Itumeleng English/ Independent Media
The Minister of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth, has criticised the Democratic Alliance's (DA) court challenge against employment quotas as anti-transformation.
"The DA's challenge seeks to disrupt efforts aimed at achieving equitable representation and maintaining the inherently unfair status quo. By opposing these amendments, the DA is actively sabotaging the transformation goals that have been pursued since the end of the apartheid era.
"The DA is effectively hindering progress towards equality and fairness in the workplace. This stance is not only anti-transformation, but also a step backward in the fight for equality and fairness in the workplace," said Meth.
This action undermines progress made since 1994 and perpetuates the unequal status quo.
She went on to say that the Employment Equity Amendment Act allows the Minister of Employment and Labour to establish numerical objectives for ensuring fair representation of competent persons from certain groups across all occupational levels.
Meth added that the minister consults relevant industries and seeks advice from the Commission before making decisions, ensuring compliance with the Employment Equity Act.
"Unlike rigid mandatory quotas, which must be achieved at all costs, the Amendment Act introduces flexible employment equity targets. Designated employers can set their annual numerical targets in their employment equity plans, which must comply with sectoral targets.
"However, employers can justify their failure to meet these targets on reasonable grounds.The DA's attack on these regulations is based on the claim that the section 15A scheme is unconstitutional."
Chairperson of the DA Federal Council Helen Zille said the blue party is ready to begin its argument tomorrow in its seminal court case.
"While Section 9.2 of the Constitution allows fair discrimination to achieve redress, such “discrimination” has to meet the benchmark of fairness set out in Section 9. This draconian amendment Act falls far short of this benchmark.
"It is grossly unfair and gives totalitarian powers of social engineering to the Minister of Labour, who will be able to set rigid national targets for every economic sector, without any regard to the context of specific firms, and impose extremely heavy fines and the risk of criminal conviction for failure to meet them," said Zille.
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