Judgment will influence SA employment equity

IN A GROUNDBREAKING, farreaching judgment, Justice Bess Nkabinde ordered the decisions of the Department of Correctional Services not to appoint individual applicants to posts constituted unfair discrimination and unfair labour practice.

The Constitutional Court judges said the seven coloured employees of the Department of Correctional Services were to be appointed to the vacant posts and paid the remuneration and benefits of these posts.

This judgment is incredibly important for employment equity structuring for all government departments.

Likewise the private sector needs to take heed.

In essence the court said employment equity plans must take into account both regional and national demographic figures.

In other words, in the Cape you would expect to see more coloured workers being appointed and in Natal more Indian workers.

The drafters of the legislation clearly intended regional demographics to be taken into account.

The courts have now categorically found employment equity plans which don’t take into account regional demographics are unfair. As employment equity legislation is social engineering it needs to be very carefully assessed and implemented without creating further hardship and further discrimination.