DA court challenge a step backward in the fight for equality, fairness, says minister

EMPLOYMENT and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth has described the DA’s court challenge of the amendments to the Employment Equity Act as an attempt to maintain the inherently unfair status quo.

In a move that could further strain the Government of National Unity (GNU), the DA approached the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to challenge the constitutionality of the Employment Equity Amendment Act, which it claims introduces rigid national race quotas in the workplace.

The DA maintains that this will destroy jobs, undermine the economy, and violate the constitutional rights of all South Africans. The matter is expected to be heard on Tuesday.

In a statement on Monday, Meth said the Amendment Act empowers the Minister of Employment and Labour to set numerical targets for equitable representation of suitably qualified individuals from designated groups at all occupational levels. This was done after consulting relevant sectors and with the advice of the Commission, ensuring that the Minister does not act arbitrarily and remains within the framework of the Employment Equity Act.

“The DA's attack on these regulations is based on the claim that the section 15A scheme is unconstitutional. However, as stated in section 2 of the Employment Equity Act, the Minister's implementation of these measures cannot legally constitute unfair discrimination. The DA's challenge seeks to disrupt efforts aimed at achieving equitable representation and maintaining the inherently unfair status quo. By opposing these amendments, the DA is actively sabotaging the transformation goals that have been pursued since the end of the apartheid era, effectively hindering progress towards equality and fairness in the workplace. This stance is not only anti-transformation, but also a step backward in the fight for equality and fairness in the workplace,” said Meth.

Addressing journalists ahead of the court case, DA's Federal chairperson Helen Zille said South Africa needs jobs and growth - not race-based laws that block employment opportunities.

She said this would drive unemployment up and further decline the economy.

She added that this matter was not new, and that the court action started more than two years ago, during the 6th Parliament, when the DA argued that the Employment Equity Amendment Act discriminates unfairly and unconstitutionally.

“While Section 9.2 of the Constitution allows fair discrimination to achieve redress, such discrimination has to meet the benchmark of fairness set out in Section 9. This draconian amendment Act falls far short of this benchmark,” she said.

Zille said it was grossly unfair and gave totalitarian powers of social engineering to the Minister of Labour, who would be able to set rigid national targets for every economic sector, without any regard to the context of specific firms, and impose extremely heavy fines and the risk of criminal conviction for failure to meet them.

“This can no longer be classified as a target. It amounts to an enabling law for the minister to set rigid quotas, which have previously been found by our courts to be unconstitutional.”

Cape Times