COSATU welcomes President Ramaphosa’s signing of the Employment Equity Amendment Bill into law

13 April 2023

The Congress of South African Trade Unions welcomes President Ramaphosa’s signing of the Employment Equity Amendment Act into law.

The Employment Equity Amendment (EEA) Act provides badly needed interventions to strengthen government’s ability to hold employers accountable for their role and failures to adhere to the Employment Equity Act. Key progressive provisions in the Bill include:

Requiring employers to provide confirmation in their EE Annual Reports that they have paid all their workers at or above the National Minimum Wage;

Expanding the definition of disabilities to include intellectual and sensory impairments, a long overdue correction;

Empowering the Minister to set economic sectoral, sub-sectoral, regional, sub-regional and occupation specific targets; enabling more precise targets for sectors, occupations and regions that are notorious for their failures to reflect South Africa’s demographics;

Allowing for regional and sub-regional variations, which is critical given the diversity of South Africa’s population found in different provinces;

Requiring employers to consult trade unions on employment equity targets, and thus helping to foster a more inclusive approach to meeting targets and supporting collective bargaining;

Empowering labour inspectors to inspect and ensure compliance with the EE Act;

Empowering the Minister to issue compliance certificates to employers in good standing with the EE Act and to require such certificates for companies applying for government contracts.

This provision in particular is a welcome step forward requiring employers doing business with the state to be in compliance with labour laws and acting in a way that supports good labour practises. Workers’ hard earned taxes should not be used to reward abusive employers.

COSATU urges the Department of Employment and Labour to move with speed to ensure the promulgation and implementation of these long overdue provisions. Organised Business must do its bit to ensure employers are aware of these new requirements. COSATU will working with its Affiliates, endeavour to empower shop stewards and workers on this progressive amendment act.

Issued by Matthew Parks, Parliamentary Coordinator, COSATU, 13 April 2023