A Kempton Park-based chocolate manufacturer has been challenged by the Department of Employment and Labour to address its alleged equity representation disparities.
The department in a statement said the company, Beyers Chocolates, had an over representation of African Females at lower levels and an over representation of White Males at Senior Management levels.
Department spokesperson Teboho Thejane said the department was addressing the matter after a weekend media publication that Beyers was reprimanded for employing too many black women.
The company, said the report, has been told by the department to employ more black men.
Thejane said the report was false and exaggerated recommendations proposed by the Inspector to Beyers Chocolates.
Detailing events, he said, the department first conducted inspections on the company on 19 February 2019.
“The employer was found to be non-compliant and was given 60 days to comply and submit the documents on the 60th day to the Inspector.
“The employer met the deadline. Then the Inspector conducted the reassessment on (19 December 2019) of the documents with the intention of approving the plan if it met the requirement set by the Act,” said Thejane.
He said companies in South Africa are required to design and implement an Employment Equity plan with the intent of enabling employers achieve reasonable progress towards employment equity.
This, said Thejane, is to assist in eliminating unfair discrimination and equitable representation in the workplace.
“Designated employers have four main obligations (detailed in the following section), to achieve the equitable representation of Africans, Women and People living with disabilities in the workplace.
“The central mechanism to achieve this objective is through the development, implementation and monitoring of an approved Employment Equity Plan.”
Beyers, he said, had an over representation of African Females at lower levels and an over representation of White Males at Senior Management levels.
Thejane added: “Inspectors are empowered to make such comments since the law enables them to assess plans against demographic details of the area a company is operating in. It is duplicitous for the employer to run to the media instead of addressing his concerns with the Inspector with the Department”.
Furthermore, he said, the employer has projected to reduce the number of African females by 2021 from 34 to 10 at unskilled level and 193 to 170 at semi-skilled level.
“However, his strategy falls short of unpacking how they will be progressing to higher levels. The employer is projecting 5 opportunities at Senior Management level while giving two to African females and one to a white female who are already exceeding demographics at that level despite being absent at the lower level,” he said.
The opportunity given to white females could have been used to further augment the two projected for African females to affirm them at Senior Management level as they are a majority in the company, said Thejane.
The department is organising an advocacy session with the employer together with the Employment Equity Forum at the workplace because the employer has a plan but does not have strategy to ensure the progression of females to upper level. – SAnews.gov.za
