Dear Editor
The DA condemns the coming into effect of the new employment equity reporting regulations today. South African businesses need to be free to grow and create jobs, rather than being forced to implement divisive, race-based quotas on behalf of the Minister of Employment and Labour.
We are confident that our court challenge will stop the Minister’s social engineering experiment in its tracks, protecting South Africans’ freedom to work where they want and achieve transformation through inclusive growth.
While other court challenges have taken issue with the regulations, the strength of the DA’s court case lies in the Employment Equity Amendment Act’s violation of Section 9 of the Constitution, which prohibits unfair discrimination.
Minister Meth’s new rigid quotas do not take into account the realities of individual firms, nor do they consider that South Africans want to be employed because of their skills and talents, not because of the colour of their skin. In addition, her regulations may force South Africans to classify themselves racially.
We have already made it clear that we oppose any attempts to introduce a “race register” by stealth, in our oversights to the Deeds Office.
The regulations set up businesses to face penalties that will bankrupt them if they don’t comply. But complying with the quotas will make it impossible for anyone who doesn’t fit the minister’s target to keep a job.
Does the Minister expect people who do not fit her draconian targets to be fired? If not, how does she expect businesses to comply?
The most effective form of redress is a job. The new employment equity amendment is a job-killer and will deprive millions of South Africans of their chance to achieve that form of redress.
Minister Meth does not have the information or the capacity to micromanage the economy, telling which firms who they can hire and where. That’s precisely why she should stay out of it.
This is why the DA has taken Minister Meth to court and will continue to fight for the repeal of her unconstitutional amendments to the Employment Equity Act that give effect to these regulations.
Regards
Michael Bagraim MP
DA Spokesperson on Employment & Labour
About the Employment Equity Regulations 2025:
New Employment Equity Regulations for 2025 required designated employers (50+ employees) in South Africa to adopt a five-year Employment Equity Plan (EEP) by August 31, 2025, aligning with sector-specific numerical targets for designated groups. The reporting cycle begins 1 September 2025, with the first reports due by 15 January 2026. These regulations aim to accelerate workplace transformation and include penalties for failing to provide justifiable reasons for non-compliance with targets.
Employment Equity and affirmative action applies to all designated employers and their employees, particularly those employees from designated groups. Designated employers are employers who employee 50 or more employees and employers who, under Schedule 4 of the previous Employment Equity Act (EEA), qualified as ‘designated employers’ by virtue of their turnover.