Pretoria - Government has rejected claims that proposed changes to the country's labour laws will result in massive job losses.
Last year, the department announced that amendments to the Labour Relations Act, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Employment Equity Act would follow in 2011.
But the trade union Solidarity has expressed concern that the proposed laws would result in one million Coloured workers in the Western Cape losing their jobs to their African counterparts.
The trade union also said that the proposed amendments to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, which make national rather than provincial demographics the determining factor in affirmative action, would result in about 300 000 Indians losing their jobs in KwaZulu-Natal.
"We do not know the basis upon which they arrived at these figures. If that is their view, Employment Equity as it stands, says when implemented, regional and national demographics must be taken into account. If taking national demographics into account will cause job loses why has the employment of white workers not decreased over the past twelve years of the implementation of the Act," questioned Chief Director of Labour Relations at the department, Thembinkosi Mkalipi.
Mkalipi said the reason the proposal was put on the table was because employers had been questioned how one takes both National and Provincial Economically Active Population (EAP) into consideration.
He added that the proposals were only suggestions at this time and if there were unintended consequences these should be raised at Nedlac.
