Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana has come under fire for targeting small businesses under the Employment Equity Act.
Democratic Alliance MP Charles Redcliffe on Wednesday said most companies affected by the Act could not afford the R500 000 fine for non-compliance.
”They are too small in size to be able to produce that amount of capital without going under. By insisting on implementing the fine, Minister Mdladlana is only further restricting the growth ability of our very fragile small business sector,” Redcliffe said.
”The minister’s bull-headed approach to skills development and employment equity puts him at risk of becoming South Africa’s chief job destroyer.”
Redcliffe called for a sunset clause to give a clear expiry date to the provisions of the Act.
The impractical targets set out in the Act are damaging the country’s small business sector and should be amended if people’s jobs are to be saved.
He said the term ”designated employer” should be changed to mean an employer who employs 100 or more people.
The Act currently compels companies that employ 50 or more employees to implement affirmative actions policies, while businesses that employ 150 or more people have to produce annual reports on how quotas are being met.
Redcliffe added the skills development programme — signed by the government, labour and business two years ago — is a failure.
The government needs to re-evaluate the relevance of education and training curricula at all levels and scrap the existing Sectoral Education and Training Authority system.
”The minister is going about his portfolio all wrong. I will send him a copy of our policy document on job creation — maybe he can pick up some ideas,” Redcliffe said. — Sapa