BUSA: Business Unity South Africa Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Labour 1 June 2005

INTRODUCTION Salutation to the Chair, committee members & media Greetings from the President and CEO of BUSA BUSA is committed to transformation Transformation an imperative for SA’s success More still to be done….Train is in motion Pace to be picked up Employer education

INTRODUCTION Welcome the DTI Codes of Good Practice Bring about necessary harmonisation EE Act should lead all EE matters in the DTI codes Charters taking momentum Note with concern the declining numbers of middle black management as per the EEC report last year Encouraged by the increase in number of companies that have reported to the DOL, joint marketing efforts Welcome the dialogue with yourselves.

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY WITHIN A BROAD CONTEXT

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY CONSTITUTIONAL IMPERATIVE SECTION 9(2): “Equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms. To promote the achievement of equality, legislative and other measures designed to protect or advance persons, or categories of persons, disadvantaged by unfair discrimination may be taken.”

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) In order to ensure that South Africa thrives, we must endeavor to facilitate and succeed in achieving employment equity Holistic approach should be adopted to achieve BBBEE, with a key focus on EMPLOYMENT EQUITY and SKILLS DEVELOPMENT BUSA supports the draft BBBEE Codes that emphasise that empowerment, employment equity/transformation and economic growth are intertwined and interdependent BUSA welcomes a move away from viewing BEE as amounting only to equity ownership and control.

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY Alignment of BBBEE Requirements Outstanding Codes Employment Equity and Skills Development BUSA is concerned that the Codes are not being released collectively, even though they will have a cumulative effect The methodological approach of the Employment Equity Act and Skills Development Act and the Codes should be aligned The reporting requirements for these Employment Equity Act and Skills Development Act and the Codes should be similar, if not the same

BUSA INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROMOTION OF EMPLOYMENT EQUITY

BUSA INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROMOTION OF EMPLOYMENT EQUITY Involvement in the Growth and Development Summit Employment Equity Task Team Short-term objectives Communications Roadshows Long-term objectives Training course Booklets Educational Guide

BUSA INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROMOTION OF EMPLOYMENT EQUITY Commission for Employment Equity HIV / AIDS Code of Good Practice & Technical Assistance Guideline Code of Good Practice on Persons with Disabilities & Technical Assistance Guideline Code of Good Practice on Human Resources Practices Up-dating of Code of Good Practice on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

BUSA INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROMOTION OF EMPLOYMENT EQUITY Promotion of Employment Equity by Employers - Up-dating of internal policies, for e.g. interviews, sexual harassment, promotions, employment equity targets

CASE STUDY

CASE STUDY WOOLWORTHS - HEARING IMPAIRED AND DEAF EMPLOYEES We are on a journey – challenges and opportunities Project started in 2003 101 Hearing Impaired and Deaf employees in 16 stores Till operators, stock room assistants, packers, cleaners, cash office, operations assistant and End of Day Manager Not part of social responsibility – adding real value to the business

CHALLENGES AND LEARNINGS Different language Communication vital in day-to-day business - Induction - Training e.g. job skills, peer education, first aid - Daily briefings and instructions and talking - Goal sets, Interviews, hearings - Safety, phoning in sick Not a formal intervention to start with – big learning and cost - Sign language training (employees paid to attend, mobility of employees) - Interpretation (SA languages, competent, consistent)

OPPORTUNITIES AND WAY FORWARD Good, dedicated employees Scope for more employment – colleges and schools Challenging employee, customer and social perceptions (retail visibility) Hearing impaired and deaf can perform a meaningful role in society

GOVERNMENT’S ROLE Access to best practice Support, advice and guidance Fund job related training and learnerships for disabled Employment centers for disabled with job related skills Fund support services e.g. Deafsa - recruitment SASLINK – interpreters SLED – signing courses and awareness Be vocal on the success stories All on journey – learning as we go…

CONCLUSION Our members actively participating in the industry charters Appeal for coherence in Government departments e.g. DTI codes set EE targets, DOL accepts self imposed targets Welcome the government position that small business voluntarily submit EE plans BUSA encourages small business to be part of SA transformation process and have a workforce that reflects SA demographics EE is one of seven BEE components, all elements are to be implemented for a sustainable transformation