Employers fail to submit AA reports
20 August 2019 | Labour
Many employers are failing to submit their Affirmative Action (AA) reports to the Employment Equity Commission (EEC) on time, while some do not submit them at all.
A report by the labour ministry, which focuses on different activities undertaken during the first quarter of the 2019/20 financial year, says when looking at the past three years, it is evident that the timely submission of AA reports by the relevant employers remains a challenge.
“Relevant employers are required to submit these reports every 12 months. Many, however, fail to submit reports on time or at all.”
During the corresponding period for the 2017/18 financial year, a total of 221 reports were submitted, while 231 reports were received by the ECC during the 2018/19 period and 210 during the first quarter of the 2019/20 financial year.
The report further notes that only 202 AA reports were reviewed, which is far below the set target of 257 for the first quarter of 2019/20.
“However, 249 Affirmative Action reports, which in total covered about 22 751 employees (below the set target of 70 000 employees), were reviewed and recommended for approval. This is inclusive of the 47 Affirmative Action reports which were carried over from the last quarter of 2018/19.”
Out of these only 212 reports were brought before a commission meeting and 200 were approved. The remaining 37 were deferred to the next quarter.
The commission, which is an integral part of the labour ministry, also held a total of 76 stakeholder engagements in the Khomas, Oshana and Erongo regions during the first quarter of this year, which was above the set target of 31 stakeholder engagements.
These engagements essentially involved direct contact with employers, unions and employees to improve their knowledge on the Affirmative Action Act and the mandate of the commission.
The commission has for the past two years been engaged in the process of reviewing the Act.
According to the report, only eight AA workplace inspections were carried out during the period under review, due to some operational constraints. This was far below the set target of 20 investigations to be carried out by the commission.
“During these inspections, a number of complaints and/or allegations relating to the violation of the Act were attended to and the relevant employers were engaged and educated on matters, in order to enhance their understanding.”
ELLANIE SMIT
A report by the labour ministry, which focuses on different activities undertaken during the first quarter of the 2019/20 financial year, says when looking at the past three years, it is evident that the timely submission of AA reports by the relevant employers remains a challenge.
“Relevant employers are required to submit these reports every 12 months. Many, however, fail to submit reports on time or at all.”
During the corresponding period for the 2017/18 financial year, a total of 221 reports were submitted, while 231 reports were received by the ECC during the 2018/19 period and 210 during the first quarter of the 2019/20 financial year.
The report further notes that only 202 AA reports were reviewed, which is far below the set target of 257 for the first quarter of 2019/20.
“However, 249 Affirmative Action reports, which in total covered about 22 751 employees (below the set target of 70 000 employees), were reviewed and recommended for approval. This is inclusive of the 47 Affirmative Action reports which were carried over from the last quarter of 2018/19.”
Out of these only 212 reports were brought before a commission meeting and 200 were approved. The remaining 37 were deferred to the next quarter.
The commission, which is an integral part of the labour ministry, also held a total of 76 stakeholder engagements in the Khomas, Oshana and Erongo regions during the first quarter of this year, which was above the set target of 31 stakeholder engagements.
These engagements essentially involved direct contact with employers, unions and employees to improve their knowledge on the Affirmative Action Act and the mandate of the commission.
The commission has for the past two years been engaged in the process of reviewing the Act.
According to the report, only eight AA workplace inspections were carried out during the period under review, due to some operational constraints. This was far below the set target of 20 investigations to be carried out by the commission.
“During these inspections, a number of complaints and/or allegations relating to the violation of the Act were attended to and the relevant employers were engaged and educated on matters, in order to enhance their understanding.”
ELLANIE SMIT
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