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The pace of transforming society and notably, the labour market is still stubbornly slow Labour Minister Oliphant

9 April 2014

Unfair discrimination practices in the workplace have led to under-utilization of the greater portion of the productive population of South Africa, Labour Minister Mildred

Oliphant told a transformation Indaba in Sandton, Johannesburg, today (April 9).

Oliphant said this was happening while the country requires skills in certain critical areas in the economy, many graduates nonetheless are either underemployed or unemployed; among these, the majority are Black females and people with disabilities.

The Minister was addressing the second Department of Labours (DoL) annual Employment Equity (EE) and Transformation Indaba held at Protea Hotel, Balalaika

(Sandton). It was held under the theme: Turning the new leaf against all odds. The EE and Transformation Indaba coincided with the release of the 14th

the Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) Annual Report.

The report showed that South Africas skewed racial make-up of the workplace remained relatively constant as a Northern Star. The Annual Report of the Commission

for Employment Equity showed that there was still an over-representation of Whites with 62.7%, which is nearly five times their economically active population (EAP)

and nearly double the sum of all Blacks at Top Management level.

According to the CEE Report, this is followed by Africans with 19.8% representation, while Indians make up 8.3%, which is more than double their EAP when compared to Africans and Coloured within the Black Group. Coloureds make up 5.1% of the representation at the Top Management level.

People with disabilities accounted for 50 867 or 0.9% (Total disability/Total workforce) of the total number of employees (5 593 326) reported by all employers in 2013.

The 2013/2014 Annual Report of the Commission for Employment Equity was presented to Oliphant, at a time of great introspection and debate about issues of transformation, employment equity and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment. The release of the report also coincide with the commemoration of 20 years of non

-racial and non-sexist democracy, in which the country is examining the road travelled in transforming workplaces.

The release of this years CEE Report on transformation is significant in that it comes in a year in which the new EE Act was signed by President Jacob Zuma into law in January. This was subsequently followed last month by the release by the Department of Labour of draft regulations public comment, taking the Act closer to

implementation of the law. The regulations deal with guidelines for dealing with the elimination of unfair discrimination with regards to equal pay for work of equal value

among others.

The report further showed that the situation at Senior Management, the White group at 57.0% is more than the EAP and almost doubles when compared to the Black group. The representation of the Indian group at 10% is the most over-represented in the Black group as their representation is around three times their EAP at this

level. Male representation at 70% are almost double the representation of women and nearly one-and-a-half-times their EAP at this level.

The report said their over-representation at this level seems to be entrenched, and unless drastic action is taken the status quo will remain in both the upper occupational levels. People with Disabilities accounted for 1.2% of the workforce at this level.

While population distribution trends for the Professionally Qualified level from 2003 to 2013 by population group shows fluctuations in the representation of Blacks at the Professionally Qualified level over the ten year period albeit at varying degrees.

Africans representation decreased by 0.6% from 39.0% in 2003 to 38.4% in 2013, although the decrease they experienced between 2003 and 2005 by 17.5% was the

worst. Coloured representation increased by 3.5% from 6.1% to 9.6% over the same period and has been gradually declining from 2009. Indian representation increased by 3.9 from 5.5% in 2003 to 9.4% in 2013, with a slight decline of 0.6% between 2007 and 2009 before increasing again from 2011. While the representation

of Whites increased by 12.1% between 2003 and 2005, it has been gradually from 2007 with a decrease of 8.6% between from 49.2% to 40.6%. The representation of

foreign nationals has been on a steady increase from 2007.

CEE Chairman Dr Loyiso Mbabane said the shoot the messengerresponses that have sometimes characterised some of the responses to the CEE Report are as regrettable as they are misdirected. Mbabane said the focus of the attention ought to be on the elimination of the on-going effects of our past racial, gender and

disabilitydiscrimination.

Mbabane said transformation was not a number crunching game, but an initiative that requires true commitment to change and redress of the past. He said the quibbling over statistics would divert focus and lead to a loss of track of the mandate at hand.

The Commission for Employment Equity (CEE), is a statutory body established in terms of section 28 of the EE Act to advise the Minister. The CEE is required to submit an annual report to the Minister of Labour on the implementation of employment equity in terms of Section 33 of the Act.

In 2013, a total of 5102 reports were received and 4984 reports were analysed, which amounts to 97.7% of these reports being included in the Analysis of the latest

report.

Department of Labour Acting Director General Boas Seruwe said the public sector had made strides in transforming workplaces, while in the private sector: it is still

business as usual as the disappointing status quo prevails. Seruwe cautioned that strengthening enforcement and increasing fines alone would not be sufficient. Seruwe said transforming the workplaces required commitment.

Seruwe said from now on it will be business unusual as the struggle to transformation unfolds.

Oliphant said it was the priority of government to deal with the inequalities left behind by the Apartheid legacy in order to bring about socio-economic freedom.

The Employment Equity Act, Skills Development Act, Promotion of Equality and the Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (PEPUDA) and the Broad Based Black

Economic Empowerment Act are some of the pieces of transformation legislation enacted to accomplish this task, she said.

According to Oliphant, the passing of the Employment Equity Act marked a turning point in our history as it is the first equality legislation to be passed by a

democratically elected Parliament in 1998 to give effect to the Constitutional provisions relating to equality in South Africa.

The majority of the workplaces are still Lilly White at the top and often male over-represented with a few pockets of Black and women executives. Although the public sector has managed to transform, many employers in the private sector are still found to be wanting in terms of implementing employment equity, as it is business as

usual for many employers, Oliphant said.

She said it was important to emphasize that the draft Employment Equity regulations recently published for public comment, are in no way intended to disadvantage any

of the designated groups, in particular the Coloured and Indian groups.

Anyone who says so is telling a blue lie and even in an election period, lies should not and cannot be acceptable. In fact, contrary to what some parties have claimed, the regulations were introduced to enhance the implementation of the law given the high levels of non-compliance that the Department has observed over the 16 years

of the enactment of this Act, Oliphant said

Issued by: Musa Zondi

Ministerial Spokesperson

012 392 9625 or 082 901 8081

musa.zondi@labour.gov.za

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