Johannesburg - Employment equity laws will be beefed up and stiff penalties for defaulting companies will be introduced soon, if director-general designate of the labour department Jimmy Manyi has his way.
Manyi, the chairperson of the Employment Equity Commission and director-general designate of the labour department, has threatened non-compliers with prosecution for four years, but the law let him down as it lacked the bite to punish offenders.
But now that he's earned himself a government position and a document setting out draft amendments to the equity laws and penalties has been tabled at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), Manyi is optimistic.
This week, he told City Press that if the proposed amendments to the Employment Equity Act were passed into law, employers that continued to exclude and marginalise blacks in their management structures would be hit where it hurt most - the bottom line.
"The only language that companies understand is the income statement. If they don't see an effect on their income statements they will not understand. With these proposed amendments, we will hit their bottom line hard," he said.
A month ago, the proposed amendments, which call for non-compliers to be fined 10% of their turnover and to be excluded from lucrative tenders, were tabled at Nedlac.
It appears government ran out of patience as was evidenced by the broad support Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana was given over the mooted changes.
Manyi said the proposals also call for the state to deprive serious offenders access to lucrative tenders. State departments would be given the power to refuse to do business with or cancel a tender with such suppliers.
"If all goes well, the new legislation will hit the labour market by June. In the meantime we will name and shame companies individually instead of naming them en masse," Manyi said.
Nedlac, a council comprising labour, business, government, and civil society groups, will discuss the proposals before they are sent to Parliament where, if accepted, they will be made into law. The Nedlac discussions could take up to three months and the parliamentary process six to eight months, he said.
Slap on the wrist
Manyi said the R1 million fine imposed on companies - contained in the current legislation introduced in 1998 - represented a slap on the wrist.
"This is petty cash. We want those companies that are not playing ball to be punished and those that are supportive of the law to be praised."
He said the government had built up its capacity to deal with non-compliers.
"All government departments have procurement managers. These managers must ask for proof from the Department of Labour to check if the supplier has complied. If the supplier has not complied, the tender must not be awarded to the offending supplier."
For nine years, the commission published reports that showed that affirmative action was taking place in South Africa's workplace at a snail's pace. This week it again released a report that showed that Africans, who make up 74.1% of the economically active population, held 13.6% of top management positions and 17.3% of senior management posts.
Manyi said for a company to be considered to be in serious breach of the Employment Equity Act, it had to break every law in the book - including failing to assign a senior manager to monitor employment equity and human resources managers who fail to consult with labour when drawing up affirmative action plans.
However, the amendments will not apply to small businesses that employ less than 50 people.
These companies are not required to report their progress on employment equity, but are required to comply with the Labour Relations Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
Firms employing more than 50 workers are expected to report on progress once every two years, and those with up to 150 employees every year.
- City Press