Address by Chairperson of the Commission for Employment Equity, Jimmy Manyi at the 11th Nedlac Annual Summit

09 September 2006

Gallagher Estate, Midrand

THEME: TAKING STOCK, FRUITS OF SOCIAL DIALOGUE, CHALLENGES OF SOCIAL DIALOGUE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Programme Director
Honourable Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka,
Honourable Ministers present,
Government Officials,
NEDLAC Executive Director, Herbert Mkhize,
Leaders from all the NEDLAC constituencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for affording me the privilege to address you here today on a theme that is both relevant and, at the same time, fundamental towards the transformation of our economy.

Were it not for social dialogue, we would not be here discussing sustainable development, especially when we inherited an economy with such large disparities in terms of race and gender - Nor would we be highlighting the need for job creation and the plight of the most vulnerable like the unemployed and people with disabilities.

The main purpose of the Employment Equity Act is to eliminate unfair discrimination; and implement affirmative action measures to redress imbalances of the past to ensure equitable representation of the designated groups (i.e. Blacks, women and people with disabilities) in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce. Administration of this Act is underpinned by the principle of social dialogue similar to that which occurs at NEDLAC. To establish the Commission for Employment Equity the representation and participation of Labour, Business, State and Community is mandatory.

Over the years, a number of policy documents and tools have been developed to assist employers to implement the Act. These policy documents and tools were developed through dialogue that was informed by road shows, public hearings and research.

The Commission for Employment Equity developed and introduced regulations for employers to report from 2000 onwards to the Department of Labour. These regulations were amended in 2006 to primarily emphasise that foreign nationals are not beneficiaries of affirmative action, to entrench the importance for consultation, gather more data, particularly on people with disabilities and Income Differentials.

Codes of Good Practice to unpack key principles in the Act were also developed. These included Codes on preparation and implementation of employment equity plans, HIV&AIDS and employment, disability and employment and a Code of Good Practice on the integration of Employment Equity into Human Resource Policies and Practices.

In addition to the Codes, Technical Assistance guidelines were developed to assist employers to implement various aspects of the Codes on HIV&AIDS and disability in the workplace.

A Director General's (DG) Review has just been introduced to assess the compliance levels of employers. This system focuses mainly on the substantive compliance of employers. The DG is empowered in terms of the Act to make recommendations to employers, and where applicable refer an employer who is in breach of his recommendations directly to the Labour Court.

Five annual reports have been prepared and made available to the public by the Commission. The sixth report is due to be launched by the Minister of Labour on Monday, 11 September 2006. These reports provide feedback to the public and cover some of the key activities of the Commission, employment equity trends and highlights some key challenges.

Contributions were made by the Commission to the Department of Trade and Industry on the development of the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Codes. This was essential to ensure that these Codes were aligned to the Employment Equity Act, as employment equity and skills development are key components of the Broad Based Black Economic Act.

Just as we have with the alignment of Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment, Employment Equity and Skills Development, we must make certain that there is alignment among them and the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (ASGISA). We must always be self-assured that we do not lose, although very little, the gains achieved through employment equity.

Despite all our achievements, our progress towards an equitable workforce remains very slow. We may have developed policies and tools on a macro level, but this is having very little impact at the micro level. It is therefore crucial that we take our social dialogue to the workplace level where business and labour consult and discuss on employment equity issues.

Furthermore, business, labour, the State and Community must make certain that representatives that are put forward have time available and are willing to fully participate for us to maximise on our social dialogue in whatever forum.

Ladies and Gentlemen, apart from wanting to highlight the need to strengthen our enforcement mechanisms, I thank you.