Employers making strides in meeting employment equity targets will be rewarded with certificates of compliance, while companies dragging their heels in promoting transformation will face the wrath of the government.
This was revealed at the KwaZulu-Natal roadshow organised by the Department of Labour to encourage KZN employers to comply with the government's ambitious employment equity targets.
The roadshows are aimed at ensuring that employers comply with the Employment Equity Act, particularly the provisions relating to reporting, and those on the employment of
people with disabilities.
Experts representing different sectors of the economy expressed disappointment yesterday about a lack of commitment to the implementation of equity in the workplace.
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However, the government has vowed to accelerate the enforcement and implementation strategy by ensuring that those employers making progress in meeting transformation targets are recognised, while those who fail to comply will be named and shamed.
Reporting on progress since the implementation of the Employment Equity Act 1999, Nerine Kahn, senior executive manager in the Department of Labour, said the employment equity report for 2002 indicated that only 6 990 employers had reported, compared to 12 980 companies in 2000.
Khan said the integration of people with disabilities into the labour market was also moving slowly, raising concerns that the government would not meet its two percent target by March 2005.
The Act stipulates that companies should submit their employment equity reports by October 1.
"From next year we will have employment equity awards, because there are several companies that have complied with transformation targets, but they have not been recognised.
"The award system will promote competition among employers and will expose those companies that fail to comply," said Kahn.
Speaking about the challenges facing the government, Kahn said that employees claimed a lack of understanding of the Act and the related consultation processes, while employers seemed unwilling to engage employees in employment equity
matters.
The Chief Operating Officer of Business Unit SA, Vic van Vuuren, said organised business would support the name and shame list of companies that failed to comply.
"As organised business we support employment equity, and we are not advocating for it to be removed.
"If we don't implement it, the consequences will be dire.
"That is why we support the list of employers who are breaking the law, but we will also advocate education and support to those employers who need assistance," said Van Vuuren.
Lack of efficient public transport has also been identified as a major stumbling block to the advancement of people in the workplace.
"The lack of efficient public transport is preventing the presence of people with disabilities in the workplace, and the Department of Transport would have to look into it," said the Secretary-General of the Disabled People of SA, Mzolisi ka Toni.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of The Mercury on August 12, 2004
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