Deputy Speaker, the ACDP supports the broad intention of employment equity legislation, which is to address the inequalities of the past. But what is particularly problematic with this amendment Bill is that the democratic process, from Parliament's side, has left business stakeholders feeling that their views have been totally ignored.
Business Unity SA's executive director, Vanessa Phala, says the trend of the labour committee passing Bills without considering the views of business is very, very worrying. Labour expert Andrew Levy called the processes of consultation "a charade". Ms Phala says the Bill's removal of the right of companies to appeal against the compliance orders is a violation of the principle of administrative justice and is probably unconstitutional.
Busa also argued that the too rapid recourse to the Labour Court to deal with cases of noncompliance would be costly and time consuming, and that there should be scope for conciliation in line with the convention of the International Labour Organisation.
What the poor need most are jobs, and joblessness among black South Africans has almost tripled in 19 years. At present, only 3% of black South Africans have completed the necessary tertiary studies for management positions and many of them have only recently qualified and are too young to have gained the experience needed.
The SA Institute of Race Relations says it is not a racist refusal on the part of business to employ black people; it is the skills deficit that is the key issue that needs to be addressed. The skills deficit is so acute that many firms are paying premiums of between 10% and 30% for skilled black professionals.
Now, instead of recognising or addressing these problems, important provisions addressing these practical issues have been removed from the current Act. Under this Bill, maximum fines will start at R1,5 million or 2% of annual turnover, whichever amount is greater. For a fifth similar offence within three years, a maximum fine would be R2,7 million. These proposed fines, coupled with the absorption of skills by a better paying public service, make it virtually impossible for firms to stay in business while working towards increasing black representation at senior levels.
The ACDP will, however, be supporting this Bill, despite our reservations because we recognise that we are facing significant inequality in South Africa. We must make strides in this direction.