Employment and Labour hosts annual Employment Equity workshop at Emalahleni in Mpumalanga
The Department of Employment and Labour’s Employment Equity (EE) Directorate and the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) hosted yet another annual Employment Equity workshop in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, to further inform relevant stakeholders about the importance of the Good Code of Practice on the prevention and elimination of harassment in the workplace and the employment equity.
The national series workshops/roadshows which started on 17 August 2022 in Kimberley in the Northern Cape, will run until mid-September, 2022, with the objective to create awareness on compliance with the Employment Equity (EE) Act, share the most current information on what happens in the workplaces on equity and related matters, share information on EE disputes and help prepare employers to submit fully and accurate EE reports online to the Department.
The primary goal of the EE Roadshows is to raise education and awareness about workplace harassment prevention and elimination. It is intended to assist employers in developing procedures and policies before an incident (harassment) occurs, as well as to prepare employers for what to do if an unfortunate case occurs.
The good practice began five years ago at the International Labour Organisation when global countries recognized the need for a labour standard that provides employers with guidelines for developing policies.
The new Code of Good Practice on the prevention and elimination of harassment in the workplace was published on 18 March 2022 by the Department of Employment and Labour.
According to Lufuno Innocent Makwarela of the Department’s Policy Development Unit, the Mpumalanga Employment Equity Report statistics presented from 2019 to 2021 showed that the province was doing well in terms of having an increase of Africans at the top management level recently.
The province report shows a nearly 10% increase in top management in 2021, which is a 9.9 percentage increase. The African designated group accounts for 92.8 percent of the Employment Active Population in Mpumalanga.
“What is concerning is that the province is failing to meet the government’s two percent target for employment of people with disabilities by 2020,” said Makwarela.
The roadshows/workshops, held under the theme: “Real transformation makes business sense”, are continuing as follows:
KwaZulu-Natal
• Richards Bay (30 August 2022) – IMVUBU LODGE, Krewelkring and Hibberd Dr, Meer En See, Richards Bay
• Pietermaritzburg (31 August 2022) – K AND T EVENTS FUNCTION VENUE, Cnr. Mayors Walk and Neville Rd, Prestbury
• Durban (01 September 2022) – OLIVE CONVENTION CENTRE, 1 Somtseu Rd, North Beach, Durban
Eastern Cape
• Gqeberha (30 August 2022) – EASTCAPE TRANING CENTRE (ETC), Spondo St, Struandale, Gqeberha
• East London (31 August 2022) – HOTEL OSNER, Court Cres, Esplanade, East London
Western Cape
• George (06 September 2022) – (venue to be confirmed)
• Cape Town (07 September 2022) – (venue to be confirmed)
Gauteng
• Pretoria (13 September 2022) – RH Hotel, Corner Steve Biko Road and, Trevenna Street, Sunnyside
• Johannesburg (14 September 2022) – (venue to be confirmed)
• Vaal (15 September 2022) – (venue to be confirmed)
The national workshops will be held from 10:00 to 13:00 and members of the media are invited.
Source: Government of South Africa