JOHANNESBURG, August 10 (ANA) – The Department of Labour said on Thursday that its inspection and enforcement services branch had initiated a national director-general review to inspect 72 companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) to ensure compliance with employment equity.
The department said the initiative was part of achieving the department’s outcome to promote equity in the labour market. The review team started with the inspections last month and these will continue until December.
The review involves a process of interrogating companies’ employment equity plans to assess whether the plans comply with legislation and was able to transform when put to test.
Fikiswa Mncanca, the department’s chief director for statutory and advocacy services, said the programme started with a review of the JSE Securities Exchange, which the department found was wanting when its came to employment equity implementation.
Mncanca said the review found that the JSE plan was not complying in terms of Section 20 (2) of the Employment Equity Act and recommendations were issued and the chief executive, Nicky Newton-King, and her team signed the recommendations and agreed to address the shortcomings.
The JSE was given 60 days to comply.
Mncanca said the department was also busy with employment equity workshops across the country while the inspections and review were in progress.
“It is our responsibility to educate our stakeholders on the expectations, conduct inspections to check compliance and for those employers that are not willing to comply, refer them for prosecutions and enforcement compliance,” Mncanca said.
Mncanca said that if a company did not have a plan, it would be subjected to a fine of R1.5 million and that those failing to report on employment equity plans would also be subjected to a R1.5 million penalty.
– African News Agency (ANA)
