DA to fight equity law in court

The quotas in the employment Act will make it extremely difficult for coloured and Indian people to find or keep jobs, the party argues

- Lyse Comins

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has filed an application in the Pretoria high court challenging the employment equity quotas in the Employment Equity Amendment Act which it says are merely "racial exclusion under a new name".

DA spokesperson on labour Michael Bagraim said the party was taking the Minister of Employment and Labour Nomakhosazana Meth to court on 6 May to challenge the Act, which became law in January.

It sets hiring quotas for 18 economic sectors, from mining and transport to construction and agriculture, in a bid to increase employment opportunities for “designated groups” including black people, women and people living with disabilities.

Companies with 50 or more employees must align their employment equity plans with the new sector-specific targets and these must be implemented between 1 September this year and 31 August 2030.

Bagraim said his party had launched a “constitutional challenge” to section 15A of the Act, which introduces “rigid national race quotas” in the workplace.

The law is one of several pieces of legislation and policies implemented since the fall of apartheid in 1994 in a drive to reverse the racial inequalities that favoured white people.