The Department of Employment and Labour’s Employment Equity (EE) Directorate is gearing itself up for the implementation and enforcement of the new EE Act once the Parliamentary processes are finalised by March 2022.
EE director Ntsoaki Mamashela is hopeful that the processing of the EE Bill will now be expedited, as Parliament has resumed after recess.
The EE Bill is expected to go to the National Council of Provinces for consideration soon.
The Amendment of the EE Act of 1998 is intended to reduce the regulatory burden on small business, while simultaneously empowering the Employment and Labour Minister to regulate sector-specific EE numericals and to promulgate Section 53 of the EE Act for the issuing of EE compliance certificates.
Mamashela on September 2 said the expected introduction of five-year sector targets would mark the beginning of a clean slate.
“All current EE plans will fall away in September 2022 and the new plans will have to be aligned with five-year targets. Self-regulation has not worked,” she said.
Mamashela said further sector engagements on sector targets, which started in 2019, would continue.
These have already been held with sectors such as mining, financial and business services, wholesale and retail, and construction.
By June 30, this year, the department had engaged with 18 economic sectors and concluded an agreement with the financial and business services sector.
She added that the department was currently analysing the written submissions in response to the proposed EE targets from the remaining 17 sectors, with the view of conducting follow-up engagements in an attempt to reach consensus.
“It is envisaged that the sector engagements will be concluded by February 2022 with proposed targets,” she said.