“White men” still dominate: Minister

A review and tightening of the Employment Equity Act may be a solution to the "gloomy" picture of the status of employment equity in the country.

Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana, speaking at the release of the 10th Annual Employment Equity Report in Pretoria today, said the act had been distorted by the "privileged" so they could preserve their positions.

He said white males continued to dominate the economy, black women continued to be treated as inferior, while black men were moving up, they were perpetuating gender inequality by leaving behind black women.

"A change must and will come in this regard. We have no option but to revisit the act and tighten it," said the minister, adding that he would act swiftly to get the matter in the public arena so that the necessary social discourse is embarked upon towards finding a solution.

"The longer we take to make reasonable progress towards implementing employment equity, the more negative the impact would be on the growth of our economy and stability of our democracy," said Mdladlana.

The Employment Equity Report showed there were still salary discrepancies among races and that males still dominated higher positions. It also indicated that there was still racism in the workplace.

Currently, non-compliant employers are fined up to R500 000, which according to the minister is very low. "With the new amendments, we want to fine people on the spot like traffic officers," he said. - BuaNews