NATIONAL NEWS - The Minister of Employment & Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth had until today, 18 June, to withdraw her employment equity regulations published on 15 April or face an urgent interdict by Sakeliga and Neasa, the National Employers Association of South Africa.

However, at 16:00 this afternoon, Sakeliga CEO Piet le Roux told Group Editors that their lawyers had heard nothing from Meth and that they would proceed with the urgent interdict application to stop the regulations from taking effect in September. 

He said that technically the minister still had until midnight to respond, but that in light of her statement that employment equity will be forced down the throats of its opponents, it was safe to say that their demand is being ignored. 

Sakeliga CEO Piet le Roux

In their joint statement about their ultimatum a week ago, Sakeliga and Neasa said they want to stop the minister from forcing employers to comply with her hiring quotas based on race, sex and disability from September 2025, on penalty of fines as high as 10% of turnover and eventual prosecution of executives. 

"The purpose of the urgent interdict would be to prevent the minister’s unlawful actions from causing an enormous and irrevocable waste of public and private resources, which would follow should employers attempt to comply with the impossible requirements. 

"The regulations would apply to virtually all employers in South Africa with 50 staff or more, and affects local and international employers equally. 

"We have given the Minister until 18 June 2025 to suspend or withdraw the regulations, failing which our attorneys are instructed to bring an urgent application," they said.

Read the full statement here and also read Le Roux's extremely interesting opinion piece "The escalation of transformation" under the Opinion tab on the home page of this website and by then clicking on Contributors. 

Judgement in DA's challenge still not out

Judgment in the DA's constitutional challenge to Section 15A of the Employment Equity Amendment Act was reserved on 7 May. 

The DA's challenge focuses on the introduction of sectoral numerical targets, which the party argues are essentially rigid race quotas. The Pretoria High Court heard the case on 6 May and judgement was expected within three months.  

'Crude racial classification' by employers not on

The DA is also preparing a legal challenge against a  pronouncement by Meth, that her department will make employers self-implement sectoral racial quotas, including forcing employers to decide and declare the race of their employees, where employees are not willing to disclose their race.

The DA is outraged by this and committed to challenging this all the way through the courts, said MP Michael Bagraim, DA Spokesperson on Employment and Labour.

"Minister Meth has confirmed that this crude racial classification to meet quotas will be put on employees based on 'generic' definitions of persons of colour - these 'generic' definitions have remained unchanged since 1998."

MP Michael Bagraim, DA Spokesperson on Employment and Labour Photo: Facebook

Bagraim said Meth confirmed this in writing in a reply to a DA Parliamentary question.

"If an employee does not wish to racially classify themselves, then according to Minister Meth their employer is legally mandated to do so on their behalf based on 'reliable, existing historical data'. 

"This would entail that an employee would have to provide their family history, which is personal information, or have their race assumed. 

This is preposterous suggestion and appears to expect employers to conduct race inspections to tick a box, in order to avoid being fined."

Bagraim said this cannot stand in democratic South Africa. 

"There is no longer a Population Registration Act and no legal way to determine race." 

He said South Africa continues to be one of the most unequal nations on earth, with more than 8 million South Africans unemployed and a small elite enriched, making the evidence against Employment Equity regulations undeniable.

He called on the minister to repeal "these unscientific and disastrous Employment Equity regulations", as well as other regulations that harm our economy as opposed to protecting workers.

"It cannot stand that employers become racial classification agents. 

"The president has already committed to a comprehensive review of our country’s regulations, and Employment Equity must be the first under independent review," Bagraim said.

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