COMPANIES BASED in South Africa face fines of up to 10 per cent of their turnover if they fail to racially diversify the workplace under new recommendations made by the country's Employment Equity Commission, writes BILL CORCORANin Johannesburg
The government is looking at introducing a number of EEC recommendations relating to affirmative action in the workplace following the release of its latest annual report, which showed the vast majority of companies were not complying with the Employment Equity Act.
Under the 1998 Act, which in part seeks to address the racial imbalances forced upon the workplace by apartheid, companies that employ more than 50 people must implement affirmative action programmes to diversify their workforce or face prosecution.
However, according to the workplace profile data given to the CEE by some 10,000 companies from around the country, over the past 10 years the majority of employers have failed to comply.
The data shows the upper echelons of management of companies based in South Africa continue to be predominately white and male, as was the case under apartheid, despite Caucasians making up fewer then 10 per cent of the population.
White men represented 61 per cent of people in top management and 45 per cent of all employees promoted to this level, while black men only made up only 10 per cent of senior managers and 13 per cent of all employees promoted to this level, even though they make up nearly 80 per cent of the population.
Indian and coloured men represented 5 per cent and 4 per cent respectively in this category, while white women represented 12 per cent and black women just less than 4 per cent.
Indian and coloured women each represented just more than 1 per cent. The study also looked at how the government sector fared compared with the private sector for the first time, and the findings showed the state to be much closer to reaching its equal opportunity targets.
In government 61 per cent of senior managers are black, 12 coloured, 5 Indian, 21 white and under 1 per cent foreign.
Following the release of the CEE’s 2008/09 report, Labour minister Membathisi Mdladlana said the figures showed a “disturbing trend,” and that any company that failed to comply with the act should be prosecuted immediately through the labour court.
“Unfortunately there are people you have to drag to heaven because they are heading for danger,” said the minister, who added that he backed all the recommendations made by the CEE.
CEE chairman Jimmy Manyi told The Irish Times that due to the disappointing rate of workplace transformation, the commission felt the soft approach to dealing with non-compliant companies needed to be dispensed with.
“There are currently hundreds of companies that should be prosecuted, but at the moment they keep getting time extensions to comply, and the fines are very low. So the law needs to be strengthened to ensure that prosecutions go ahead,” he said.
As well as the recommended fine of 10 per cent of annual turnover and a commitment to increase prosecutions, the CEE will also implement a “name-and-shame” policy when dealing with those companies who fail to comply.
Mr Manyi said the data provided to the CEE also dispelled the myth there are not enough qualified black people to fill senior positions, as there were more qualified people from that group available for promotion than any other race.
“Black professionals make up 50 per cent of mid-management level but this is where the glass ceiling kicks in and the racism start. Companies need to understand there is a lot of anger out there amongst the black community because South Africa is not working for them.
“They need to understand that employment equity and black economic empowerment programmes are the most peaceful way of transforming South Africa. They better take this chance because the hand of goodwill will not be extended forever,” Mr Manyi warned.
