Court dismisses bid to halt equity quotas

The High Court in Pretoria last week dismissed a case brought by two business organisations, seeking to halt implementation of race and gender employment targets for 18 economic sectors under the Employment Equity Amendment Act (EEAA), which became law in January.

- Ciaran Ryan

The case was brought by business organisations Sakeliga and the National Employers' Association of SA (Neasa), after numerical employment targets for businesses with more than 50 employees in the 18 economic sectors were published in April. Businesses that fail to meet these targets face dire consequences.

The state argued that these were targets rather than quotas, intended to increase the representation of blacks, women and people with disabilities in the workplace.