Letter: Draft employment regulations violate the constitution - BusinessLIVE
Sandile July and Nonkosazana Nkosi address only one concern about the effect of the new draft employment equity regulations — that they will lead to job losses because individuals will be fired or retrenched (“Jobs unlikely to be lost when applying employment equity targets”, June 5).
The writers ignore the other reasons for public concern that the draft regulations will lead to job losses. Among these is the risk of companies choosing to go offshore, or going bankrupt. The regulations could lead to companies downsizing due to supply chain disruptions and depressed consumer aggregate demand. All of these factors could lead to many job losses.
Importantly, the writers fail to mention the effect of the regulations in discouraging new hires or promotions. That will affect the young and the unemployed. By ignoring these factors, the writers suggest the targets aren’t bad, so people shouldn’t be worried.
We oppose the draft regulations not only because, if implemented, they would lead to job losses, but because they are inconsistent with some sections of the constitution, as we shall be pointing out in our submission to the department of employment & labour.
First, the regulations are inconsistent with section 1 of the constitution, which expressly identifies “nonracialism” as a core value on which the democratic state “is founded”. Second, they are inconsistent with section 9 (the equality clause), which states that “everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and benefit of the law”.
Third, the draft regulations will significantly change the procurement rules applicable to state entities. In this, they are inconsistent with section 217 of the constitution, which deals with the state’s procurement obligations.
Lastly, the draft regulations are inconsistent with section 195, which provides that employment and personnel management practices in state entities must be “based on ability, objectivity, and fairness”, among other things.
Mlondi Mdluli
Institute of Race Relations