The Black Business Council (BBC) has condemned trade union Solidarity for encouraging white-owned businesses to defy government’s approved policy on black economic empowerment (BEE).
On Thursday, Solidarity wrote letters to at least 2 000 major white-owned companies asking the businesses to protest against government’s latest “race laws”.
In a letter which we have seen, the union said the companies should collectively refuse to implement the BEE Act in order to exert political pressure on government and to join a legal battle to fight the new laws.
Solidarity CEO Dirk Hiermann said: “You are more than likely aware of the government’s new race law and regulations. It gives draconian powers to the Minister of Employment and Labour [Thulas Nxesi] to dictate to you who you may employ.
“Now South African society can be planned and manipulated from a central point according to race. It deprives employers of the right to do business and it deprives employees of the right to be employed.
“In this case, race is unfortunately the only criterion for the quotas that will be imposed on you. The focus is not on redress or employment, but it is on race – even if it is at the cost of jobs.”
Hiermann also said Nxesi has published 60 pages of draft regulations prescribing in great detail what a sector should look like per job level.
“This is going to tie the hands of businesses. These regulations put employers in an impossible position. They are unimplementable, yet they will become law.
“If these regulations are not implemented, you are heading for fines and the termination of government contracts. These regulations make South Africa the most racially regulated country in the world. These racial laws go way beyond ‘redress’ or ‘equity’.
“They may be written in a law, but it is not ‘just’ to target competent, hardworking and loyal employees based on the colour of their skin. The first is the injustice done to white, coloured and Indian persons, relegating them to second-class citizenship,” he said.
The letter was met with harsh retaliation from the CEO of BBC, Kganki Matabane, who said it is illegal and unlawful for Solidarity to call on law-abiding companies and owners not to implement a valid and legal legislation.
“As the law stands, the document was signed by the president. It is reckless to call [on] people to defy a legislation that is in place and valid. There is a process to be followed if you are not happy with how the policies were implemented and endorsed.
“You do not encourage people to act illegally, but you follow correct and lawful process. South Africa is a constitutional democratic country and for Solidarity to encourage illegal acts is complete nonsense.
“We are calling on companies to ignore illegal instructions from anti-transformation agent.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed the Employment Equity Bill into law, which was passed by parliament in May.
The law requires companies with more than 50 employees to submit employment equity plans for their companies on how to meet these targets, and then submit annual reports to the Department of Employment and Labour.
The law also states that companies seeking to do business with government will be required to submit a certificate from the department confirming that they are in compliance with the Employment Equity Act and its objectives, and that they do not pay employees less than the national minimum wage.
For more business news from Sunday World, click here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa.
