Judgment reserved in employment equity case

The Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) has reserved judgment in the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) challenge to the Employment Equity Amendment Act, says a report in The Mercury. The DA had argued that the recent amendments are unconstitutional and violate the principle of equality before the law. The government opposed the application. Advocate Ismail Jamie SC, representing the DA, told the court that the previous version of the Act achieved an appropriate balance between transformation and fairness. Jamie contended that the introduction of demographic targets amounts to unfair discrimination, particularly against coloured and Indian communities in provinces such as the Western Cape and KZN, where these groups comprise a significant share of the population. The DA challenged section 15A of the amended Act, which mandates the equitable representation of qualified people from designated groups across all occupational levels. This section empowers the Minister of Employment & Labour to set binding targets for designated employers in specific sectors. Advocate Fana Nalane SC, representing the Minister and Parliament, assured the court that the amendments would not negatively affect employment or the economy. He rejected the DA’s assertion that the law promotes racial bias over merit. Nalane maintained that the Act grants the Minister the authority to implement numerical equity targets tailored to the specific needs of different sectors to promote transformation.

The Department of Employment & Labour said in its argument before the court was that the setting of targets was meant to measure and track the progress of transformation, adds the report in The Mercury. The department said Nalane had argued that the fact that the targets would be set by the Minister did not mean they would be rigid. It said the idea that non-compliance will be sanctioned following the amendments was not true as the sanction provision had always been present.