The Deputy Director: of Employment Equity, Niresh Singh told the EE Roadshow workshop that those employers who are not compliant with the EEA will be excluded from doing business with organs of state. This is subsequent to the promulgation of Section 53 of the Act.

Singh was addressing the EE Roadshow held by the Department in collaboration with the Commission for Employment Equity (CEE), and the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) at Anew Hotel Hilton, in Pietermaritzburg today, 27 May 2025.

Singh said this is as a result of Section 53 of the EEA having been promulgated. He said this section requires that any employer who makes an offer to conclude an agreement with any organ of state for supplies or services to that organ of state or for anything if a designated employer he or she must comply with both Chapter II and III and for those not designated they only need to comply with Chapter II.

“Designated employers must comply with Chapters II and III of the Act whereas those not designated have to comply only with Chapter II. They must attach the certificate of compliance which can only be issued by the Minister for a period of 12 months. The certificate can be revoked at any time for failure to comply," Singh said.

He told the gathering that the certificate of compliance issued by the Minister will only be issued when the minister is satisfied that the employer has complied with the numerical targets in terms of Section 15A relevant to that employer, if the target is not achieved, the employer must have raised a reasonable ground to justify the failure.

Singh said Section 53 has been in the Act since 1998 and was not promulgated then. “And now it is promulgated and will be in force", he said.

In addition, the employer must not have a finding by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) or a Court of Law on issues related to the National Minimum Wage (NMW), unfair discrimination, and there must be no award issued by the CCMA for noncompliance with the NMW -all these for the past 12 months.

Senior Practitioner: Employment Equity, Robert Dzhombere, took attendees through the EE Reporting system. He warned employers and consultants to refrain from waiting for the last minute to report. “This congests the system and at times you do not even have time to go through your reports to check their accuracy or you even forget to press the submit button. If it does happen that your report does not go through, to us you have not submitted it", he said.

Following the inclusion of unfair discrimination as another determinant for certification to do business with organs of state, Senior Commissioner Dube from the CCMA came in handy to put the attendees through challenging terrains in dealing with such cases. The Commissioner highlighted four cases, all emphasising the intricacies employers must go through to deal with such cases. He warned employers not to ignore or be reluctant when harassment issues are brought to their attention. He warned employers to observe confidentiality when dealing with employee cases, especially harassment ones.

The Department and its partners use the workshops/roadshows to engage with various stakeholders in the labour market on the implementation of the new legislation and its regulations.

Held under the theme: “Bridging the Equity Gap Through Diversity & Inclusion", this year's EE workshops focus on:

• How to implement the EE Amendments contained in the EE Amendment Act, 2022, and its EE Regulations;
• Five-year Sector EE targets for 18 economic sectors;
• Practical demonstration of how to utilise the EE system online facilities to capture EE reports and request the EE Certificate of Compliance; and
• Presentation on discrimination disputes referred to the CCMA and the various Courts, in particular, harassment cases, including dispute resolution mechanisms in terms of the EEA.
  
  The next workshop will be held this Thursday, 29 May 2025 at Southern Sun Elangeni and Maharani, Snell Parade, North   Beach, Durban. It will be held from 09:00 am-14:00.
  
  The remaining national workshops are scheduled as follows:
  
  Gauteng

• Pretoria (03 June 2025) – venue: Diep in die Berg, 929 Disselboom Ave, Wapadrand, Pretoria
• Johannesburg (04 June 2025) – venue (Cedarwoods of Sandton, 120 Western Service Road, Woodmead, Sandton.
• West Rand / Vaal (05 June 20205) - venue (TBC)
  
  Mpumalanga

• Nelspruit (10 June 2025) – venue: (TBC)
• Witbank (Emalahleni) - (12 June 2025) - venue (TBC)
  
  North West
• Klerksdorp (10 June 2025) - venue (TBC)
• Rustenburg (12 June 2025) - venue (TBC)
  
  Free State
• Welkom (18 June 2025) - venue (TBC)
• Bloemfontein (19 June 2025) - venue (TBC)
  
  Northern Cape
• Kimberley (18 June 2025) - venue (TBC)

Western Cape

• George (24 June 2025) – venue (TBC)
• Cape Town (25 June 2025) – venue (TBC)

Limpopo

• Thohoyandou (24 June 2025) – venue (TBC)
• Polokwane (25 June 2025) – venue (TBC)

These EE workshops are targeted at Employers or Heads of organisations, employees and trade unions, Assigned Senior EE Managers, Consultative EE forum members, Human Resource Managers and Practitioners, Academics, Civil society, and interested stakeholders.

More information on the EE workshops, including updates on the venues to be used, will be available on the department's and the CCMA's social media platforms, as well as the Department's website: www.labour.gov.za 

For media inquiries, please contact:

Teboho Thejane

Departmental Spokesperson

082 697 0694/ teboho.thejane@labour.gov.za 

-ENDS-

Issued by: Department of Employment and Labour

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