‘White people receive preference in management positions’, says Labour Minister

LABOUR Minister, Mildred Oliphant, has expressed concern over the low representation of people with disabilities in the workplace as well as the slow pace of transformation in the workplace after receiving the report from the chairperson of the Commission for Employment Equity (CEE). The report stated that whites are still recruited at a high rate in the top management positions.

“White people continue to receive preference over other race groups. Even when their contract of employment is terminated in one organisation, they are recruited back again at the same top management level in another organisation during the same period, which is an indication of opportunities afforded specifically to them at the expense of other race groups,” Oliphant said.

Of concern was the representation of people with disabilities, which decreased from two per cent in 2014 to 1.7 per cent in 2015, with men having more representation than women. Oliphant emphasised the need for companies to comply with the law

“Companies not complying will be fined. We are going to monitor those employers not adhering to the law,” she said, adding that those employers who do not know how to implement employment equity will be assisted or educated to comply.