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News24 reports that the North Gauteng High Court has ruled against the application by the National Employers’ Association of SA (Neasa) and Sakeliga to interdict implementation of new sectoral employment equity (EE) targets.
Amendments to the Employment Equity Act, which came into effect earlier this year, empower Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) Minister Nomakhosazana Meth to set numerical EE targets by sector. Employers will have to report based on new regulations, which were published in April and contain numerical targets for employment sectors, from 1 September. Pending a later review application, Neasa, which represents about 7,000 employers in different sectors, and business lobby group Sakeliga initiated court action in July seeking an interim order to suspend the regulations, calling them unlawful, irrational and harmful.
But in a ruling on Thursday, Judge Graham Moshoana said the application could not be granted as the “proverbial horse has bolted”, namely that Meth had already exercised her statutory powers in April. An interdict would therefore not be appropriate, as it could not undo an action that had already been completed. “An interdict would necessarily call for the unscrambling of an egg, as it were,” said the judge. He further held that the minister had acted within her rights to enforce sectoral targets.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Aurelia Mouton at News24 (subscription / trial registration required)
- Read too, Employers lose bid to suspend new labour regulations, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Get other news reports at the SA LabourNews home page