Employment and Labour Minister says more job opportunities needs to be given to different ethnic groups

Employment and Labour Minister, Thulas Nxesi, says more job opportunities needs to be given to Black, Coloured and Indian people

The Minister was addressing an Employment Equity (EE) Act amendment engagement session and service delivery campaign in Portland, Mitchell’s Plain on Friday.

COURTESY - X: @Deptoflabour

Nxesi said South Africa’s labour market over the past three decades has been a mirror of, what he describes as, ‘’dark, deep hole syndrome’’ as reflected in the recent Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) report.

The minister claimed that the discussion on EE amendments has been distorted deliberately to pit Africans against Coloureds and Indians – and also making the poor to fight among themselves.

“The reality is that we cannot give employers more than 26 years to transform and they choose not to move. What we are saying now with the Employment Equity Act amendments is that Minister will have the power to negotiate sector by sector - and say let us agree on targets. Each and every company must put targets in place and these will not be imposed by the Minister – but will be set up by the industry,” said Thulas Nxesi, Employment and Labour Minister

COURTESY - X: @Deptoflabour

The 23rd CEE Report released in June showed that top management is occupied by whites at 62.9 per cent followed by Africans at 16.9 per cent. This, according to CEE is despite the fact that Africans constitute 80 per cent of the national economically active population (EAP), followed by Coloureds at 9.3 per cent, Whites at 8 per cent and lastly, Indians at 2.7 per cent.

Nxesi said targets should not be confused with quotas. He said a quota is put in place and everybody must comply, “a target is put in place to be met. The targets are flexible in that they offer a leeway to provide reasons for non-achievement”.

He also expressed concern over the flood of immigrants which was posing a number of problems in the labour market.

‘’Immigrants were now preferred for employment over South Africans because they offer cheap labour, cannot fight for their rights and are subjected to slavery working conditions,’’ said the minister.

Nxesi called on departmental officials to deal with frustrations experienced by communities when accessing departmental services, especially when applying for UIF benefits.

Department of Employment and Labour services (#UIF, #CompensationFund, @CCMA_SA, IES, and PES Work-seeker Registration) are being rendered to clients during the community engagement in Mitchell's Plain. pic.twitter.com/NB9NM0b6Tm

— Department of Employment and Labour (@deptoflabour) October 13, 2023

 

Done By: Mitchum George