Employment and Labour hosts Employment Equity Dinner and Awards ceremony

Dozens of employers risk being to taken to Courts over misrepresentation on their employment equity (EE) status, this was the warning by Fikiswa Bede, Department of Employmet and Labour Chief Director: Statutory & Advocacy Services from the Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) branch.

"We will be taking a lot of employers to Courts to charge them criminally, this is in addition to imposing fines. The Employment Equity Act allows us to go to Court. I hope no one wants to have a criminal record. We are now seriously looking at pursuing the criminal route," Bede said.

She said Chief Executives of companies are the ones who sign-off the EE plans. Bede said the Department has been doing its monitoring and would no longer accept EE reports as gospel truth. She said just like the Chief Executives - EE managers and EE Forum members have a duty to ensure compliance and as such would also need to be held accountable.

Bede was speaking last night (Thursday) during the Department's IES branch EE Dinner and Awards ceremony designed to promote compliance with EE legislation. The awards ceremony was held at Anew Hotel Parktonian in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.

She said the employers bestowed with recognition last night were slected from a sample of 91 employers from various sectors and their number was reduced to nine. She said the employers were judged against their own approved EE plans.

"We are not interested in getting money from employers. The bottom line is that we are interested in ensuring compliance," Bede said, in the main EE compliance appears to have been a paper exercise.

She said the inspectorate would be invoking Section 61.

Some of the elements of Section 61 says: no person may - obstruct or attempt to improperly influence any person who is exercising power or performing a function in terms of this Act; or knowingly give false information in any document or information porovided to the Director-General or a labour inspector in terms of this Act.

Department of Employment and Labour Inspector General Aggy Moiloa told guests that there was value in compliance. Moiloa said judging by the annual reports of the Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) the work of the inspectorate was cut out.

"We have some mileage to cover," she appealed to employers to comply and not allow themselves to be pushed or force be exerted on them to comply.

She had words of praise for award recipients saying, "these are ground breakers, trend setters who give us hope that there are institutions that are willing to comply". Moiloa said workplaces should be centres to harvest talent.

Awards categories and beneficiaries presented included:

• Ministerial award (performing inspectors): Albert Mabokela; Lesego Maema; Edward Manana
• Ministerial Award Gold: Clientele Legal; Sherwood Spar; Shoprite Cherkers Pty Ltd
• Ministerial Award Silver: Le Roux; Medicus Shoes; Pine Lake Marina Pty Ltd
• Ministerial Award Bronze: Braitex Tensilon Pty Ltd; Toscana Herbs and Fresh Produce Pty Ltd

The category on affirmed employers (those that showed progress) was awarded to: Footgear (Pty) Ltd; Ackermans A Division of Pepkor Trading (Proprietary) Ltd; Sasol Limited; Samsung Electronics South Africa Production (Pty) Ltd; Nampak Products Limited; Cape Fringe Manufacturers (Pty) Ltd; Ntinga OR Tambo Dev Agency - (EC); East of Eden Trading Pty Ltd; Gautrain Management Agency; Mediclinic South Africa; Blunden Coach Tours; Rockwell Automation; Machinery Plant Hire cc; Sishen Iron Ore Company PTY LTD; Senet PTY LTD; IB Mcintyre; Iwayini Company Pty Ltd t/a Villiers Wines; Draslovka Services RSA Pty Ltd; Buffelsdrift Game Lodge; Aegis Outsourcing S.A.

For media inquiries, kindly contact:

Teboho Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
Cell: 082 697 0694
E-mail: [email protected]

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