Bid to Halt EE Quotas

EMPLOYERS: NEASA AND SAKELIGA FILE URGENT HIGH COURT PAPERS

- Ciaran Ryan

Sakeliga and the National Employers Association of SA (Neasa) filed an urgent application in a Gauteng high court this week challenging race and gender targets under the Employment Equity Amendment Act (EEAA), which became law in January.

The Act sets hiring quotas for 18 economic sectors.

These quotas, formally published in April, require employers with 50 or more employees to restructure their entire workforce to reflect the national gender and racial demographics of the country, or face dire consequences.

The EEA defines "designated groups" as blacks, women and people with disabilities, and is intended to increase their representation in the workplace.

Neasa and Sakeliga argue that Minister of Employment and Labour Nomakhosazana Meth skirted the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act by not applying the relevant sections of the EEA in arriving at the race quotas.