The Department of Employment and Labour's Deputy Director: Employment Equity, Mr Masilo Lefika, said the private sector is the most employer of choice with an important role to play in the transformation of the labour market of South Africa.
The Department's Employment Equity in collaboration with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has entered into the second week of the Employment Equity Roadshows this week, including a visit to the KwaZulu-Natal's Pietermaritzburg, where at least more than 170 stakeholders had attended the Employment Equity Workshop earlier today (25 July 2023), at the Ascot Wedding and Conference Venue at Scottsville.
According the 2023 Annual Employment Equity Report, Mr Lefika said: “The picture shows that the private sector is the most employer of choice in the labour market. About 73.3 percent of employees are employed in the private sector."
The Commissioner of the Commission for Employment Equity released the Employment Equity Annual Report on 23 June 2023, to the Minister of Employment and Labour Mr T.W. Nxesi - to provide the status of the Employment Equity in the labour market after employers (including both private and public sectors) had submitted their annual reports.
Mr Lefika said the private sector submitted about 26 214 Reports from the reports of 27 532 that were received by the Department of Employment and Labour and almost all the reports were from the private sector.
“Meaning that if they like in the private, they can commit and achieve this transformation in the labour market and address the purpose of Employment Equity and promote equal opportunities with fair treatment of employment.
“By so doing responding to Section 9 of the Bill of Rights, the Equality Clause under Chapter 2 of the Bill of Rights. So, the private sector has got an important role to play and we as Government will provide with the necessary tools or enabling tools that can be used in the labour market," said Mr Lefika.
According to the STATS SA, the National Economic Active Population (EAP) in South Africa in the third quoter of 2022, is figured as follows: Africans, 80 percent; Coloured, 9.3 percent; Indians, 2.7; and Whites at 8 percent.
The EAP is the guiding major which is considered to address the issue of under representation in the workplace and brining about diversity and inclusiveness.
“The White population Group still dominate the top management positions in the workplace at 62.9 percent after almost 25 years since the inception of the Employment Equity Act and almost 23 years since employers started submitting the Employment Equity Reports to the Director-General of the Department of Employment and Labour. This is still the picture and nothing has changed. And they are followed by Indians at 11.2 percent at top management," said Mr Lefika.
The CCMA was represented by the KwaZulu-Natal Regional Commissioner, Mr Kenneth Dube, who made his presentation on the unfair labour practice and unfair discrimination from the previous case laws.
The 2023 Employment Equity national workshops are held under the theme: “Real transformation makes business sense".
The rest remaining EE workshops with venues to-be-confirmed will be held as follows:
Gauteng
Mpumalanga
Western Cape
Eastern Cape
Free State
· Welkom (22 August 2023)
· Bloemfontein (23 August 2023)
KwaZulu-Natal
· Durban (29 August 2023)
The EE workshops are targeted at Employers or Heads of organisations, Academics, Assigned Senior Managers, Consultative forum members, Human Resource Practitioners, Trade Unions, employees and other interested stakeholders.
The national workshops start at 10:00am-14:00pm and members of the media are invited.
More information on EE workshops will be available on various Department of Employment and Labour's social media platforms and the Department's website www.labour.gov.za – which will also provide updates on schedules and venues.
For media enquiries
Teboho Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
082 697 0694/ Teboho.Thejane@labour.gov.za
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Issued by: Department of Employment and Labour
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