Employment Equity Amendment & COIDA Bill: deliberations; ILO Convention No 190

Meeting report

Employment Equity Amendment (EEA) B-Bill
Ms Sueanne Isaac, Parliamentary Legal Advisor, took the Committee through the EEA B-Bill, drawing attention to changes that had been made according to the A-List. Substantive amendments had been made in the following clauses:

• Clause 4(2) which allows the Minister to prescribe criteria that have to be taken into account when identifying economic sectors and sub-sectors subject to the provisions of the Bill, was deleted.

• Clause 4(3) was amended to require the Minister to consult with a sector before setting numerical employment targets for that sector.

• Clause 10: provisions were removed for a person acting on behalf of a labour inspector to issue a compliance order to an employer not complying with the Employment Equity Act.

• Clause 12: for the Minister to issue a compliance certificate, the period during which an employer was required to have had no findings for unfair discrimination or minimum wage violations was reduced from three years to 12 months.

• Long Title of the Bill was amended to reflect that the Bill provided criteria for the Minister to issue certificates.

Mr M Bagraim (DA) said that the DA objected to clauses 4 and 12 in their entirety.

Ms H Denner (FF+) said that the FF+ also objected to clauses 4 and 12.

The Chairperson noted the objections and explained that the adoption of the Bill would be considered at the next meeting.

Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment (COIDA) B-Bill
Mr Nathi Mnjenxane, Parliamentary Legal Advisor, took the Committee through the COIDA B-Bill, drawing attention to changes that had been made according to the A-List. Substantive amendments had been made in the following clauses:

• Clause 8: ‘life enhancement assistance’ was removed from the list of purposes for which the Compensation Fund may be used, and a new subsection, adding psycho-social support, was inserted into the list.

• Clause 41: ‘may’ was replaced with ‘must,’ making it obligatory rather than optional for a liable party to provide for the rehabilitation of employees suffering from occupational injuries or diseases.

• Clause 43: This amendment to section 73(4) of the principal Act was replaced with a subsection requiring any third party wishing to transact with the Compensation Fund to register with the Fund, and any unregistered third party currently transacting with the Fund to register within six months of the commencement of the Bill.

• Clause 59: A subsection was added to prohibit the use of a person’s statement to an authorised person or inspector in any criminal proceedings except for charge of perjury or making a false statement.

• New Clause 63 was inserted which gave domestic workers and their employers three years to submit a claim for an accident that occurred before the commencement of the Bill. It also provided for licences issued to mutual associations in terms of the principal Act to remain effective until new agreements were entered into.

There were no comments on the B-Bill from Committee members.

The Chairperson explained that the adoption of the Bill would be considered at the next meeting.

International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 190
The Committee unanimously adopted ILO Convention 190 Eliminating Violence and Harassment in the World of Work.

Committee Reports on public hearings on EEA Bill and COIDA Bill
The Committee adopted its reports on the public hearings on EEA Bill and COIDA Bill with no substantial changes.

Committee minutes
The Committee adopted minutes of its meetings on 17 and 19 March 2021, 5, 7, 12, 26 and 28 May 2021 and 8, 17, 23 and 30 June.

The meeting was adjourned.