The Pretoria High Court has reserved judgment on the DA’s case against the Employment Equity Act.
Image: Jacques Naude / Independent Newspapers
The tension within South Africa's Government of National Unity (GNU) reached a boiling point this week as the Democratic Alliance (DA) initiated court proceedings against the Department of Employment and Labour's controversial Employment Equity Act amendments.
This legal action is seen as a manifestation of long-standing policy disagreements among coalition partners, which political analysts argue were never properly resolved when forming the GNU.
Unisa political studies lecturer Professor Dirk Kotze highlighted the absence of a comprehensive policy agreement when the coalition was formed.
“What is happening now is that each of them, when they emerge, it becomes a dispute or crisis like it was with the Expropriation Act, the Bela Act, and the National Health Insurance because there is no new legislation now,” said Kotze.
“It's symptomatic of the fact that they didn't negotiate the complete agreement on both policy matters in general or across the board, and that these issues now emerge one by one, and they have to actually deal with them piecemeal, instead of in a comprehensive way,” he said.
The Employment Equity Amendment Act, passed by Parliament in 2022, empowers the Minister of Employment and Labour to set sector-specific numerical targets aimed at achieving equity within the workplace.
In its constitutional challenge, the DA argues that Section 15A undermines fundamental principles of equality before the law.
After hearing arguments by the parties on Tuesday, the Pretoria High Court reserved judgment in the application. The DA insists the amendments on the Employment Equity Act are unconstitutional and violate the principle of equality before the law.
DA federal chairperson Helen Zille told the media earlier this week that the Employment Equity Amendment Act discriminated unfairly and unconstitutionally.
“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.
“This can no longer be classified as a target. It amounts to an enabling law for the minister to set rigid quotas, which have previously been found by our courts to be unconstitutional,” Zille said.
She warned that the draconian labour regime created by the Employment Equity Amendment Act is likely to drive away investment and increase unemployment.
“Companies and potential investors have repeatedly cited these social engineering laws as major barriers to investment and growth.”
Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth said the setting of numerical targets for equitable representation of suitably qualified individuals from designated groups at all occupational levels was done after consulting relevant sectors and with the advice of the Employment Equity Commission.
She said unlike rigid mandatory quotas, the Amendment Act introduces flexible employment equity targets and designated employers can set their annual numerical targets in their employment equity plans.
Meth also said employers can justify their failure to meet the targets on reasonable grounds.
“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, 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.
The ANC condemned the DA court challenge, saying it was a direct assault on the very foundation of South Africa’s transformation journey.
“The DA’s court challenge against section 15A of the EEAA, which introduces sector-specific numerical targets to correct racial imbalances in the workplace, reveals its enduring opposition to redress and equality,” spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said.
Kotze said it was difficult to predict what could transpire after the court action between the ANC and the DA.
However, he said should there be serious difference of opinion about policy matters, that can break up the GNU.
“The GNU is working very well for the DA. Their public support is increasing, so there is no reason for them to pull out.”
Kotze added that the DA was likely to gain public sympathy from those likely to be affected by the new law.
“I think why they are continuing with this is because they have seen what happened when they imposed the VAT increase. There was lots of public support for it,” he said.
“In provinces like the Western states, there will be also a lot of support, especially from the coloured people, for their position on employment equity because the coloured community are not against the principle, but against how it is implemented.”
mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za