Employment Equity Targets — A bridge too far?

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour has called for public comment on the Employment Equity Amendment Bill. The bill promises a shake-up of the country’s existing employment equity laws and will give the minister of Employment and Labour the power to speed up transformation in specific business sectors. It does this by empowering the minister to set sector-specific employment equity targets across most of South Africa’s major industries. But many businesses say this will have the opposite effect and indeed retard growth and employment. Michael Avery speaks to Thembinkosi Mkalipi, Chief Director of Labour Relations inside the Department of Employment and labour; Jonny Goldberg, CEO at Global Business Solutions; & Gerhard Papenfus, CE of the National Employers Association of South Africa