The two organisations argue that, if the apex court refuses to hear the matter, employers could face immediate enforcement action from the Department of Employment and Labour. They also warned that the International Trade Administration Commission already requires Employment Equity compliance certificates for certain trade and tariff\u2011related processes, exposing businesses to potential operational and financial harm.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
National Employers\u2019 Association of SA (NEASA) National Manager Jaco Swart said the High Court erred in rejecting their application for an interim interdict while a broader review of the Minister of Employment and Labour\u2019s decision is pending.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Swart said the application rests on several grounds. One key argument is that the Minister failed to properly publish the final sectoral numerical targets for public comment as required under section 15A of the Employment Equity Act. He said previously published draft targets differed materially from the final quotas that were eventually imposed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Another central issue is consultation. Swart argued that the Act requires meaningful consultation with both employers and employees within affected sectors, yet no genuine consultation took place. He said sector engagements consisted largely of brief information sessions rather than opportunities for stakeholders to influence outcomes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The organisations also contend that the targets are arbitrary and disconnected from labour market realities such as attrition rates, skills pipelines and sector\u2011specific conditions. Swart claimed some targets would be impossible to achieve without discriminatory outcomes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are examples where the targets would effectively require dismissals or appointments on an unrealistic scale,\u201d he said, adding that women could be disproportionately harmed in sectors such as education.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A further ground relates to the absence of a socio\u2011economic impact assessment. Swart said the Minister did not assess the likely consequences of the quotas on employment, investment and business sustainability, rendering the decision irrational and reviewable.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If the Constitutional Court declines to hear the appeal, the quotas will remain in force while the substantive review proceeds. Employers would still be expected to comply with existing Employment Equity obligations, including incorporating the Minister\u2019s targets into their five\u2011year employment equity plans.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sakeliga and NEASA have indicated that the broader legal challenge will continue regardless of the outcome of the leave\u2011to\u2011appeal application.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":31595,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-31594","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Business organisations Sakeliga and the National Employers\u2019 Association of South Africa (SA) have filed an application asking the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal a High Court decision that declined to urgently block the implementation of SA\u2019s new Employment Equity quotas.","published_date":"","news_description":"Business organisations Sakeliga and the National Employers\u2019 Association of South Africa (SA) have filed an application asking the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal a High Court decision that declined to urgently block the implementation of SA\u2019s new Employment Equity quotas.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/31594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/31594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31596,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/31594\/revisions\/31596"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=31594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}