The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) strongly condemns the Democratic Alliance (DA) for its disgraceful decision to take the amended Employment Equity Act to court. This legal action is not about “non-racialism” or “merit” — it is about protecting the economic privileges of the white minority, shielding untransformed corporations, and rolling back even the modest advances made since 1994.
The amendments empower the Minister of Employment and Labour to set sector-specific equity targets — a long-overdue measure to address the stubborn racial and gender inequalities entrenched in the private sector. These targets are not quotas but flexible benchmarks to accelerate real change in workplaces where transformation has stalled or been actively resisted.
But the DA, true to its political DNA, is defending the status quo — a labour market still dominated by white males, where black workers remain stuck in the lowest rungs of income, power, and dignity.
The DA: Party of Corporate Privilege in the Language of Liberalism
This legal challenge is consistent with the DA’s long-standing role as the parliamentary arm of big business. It has always dressed its opposition to redress in liberal language — hiding a fundamentally anti-black, anti-worker agenda behind terms like “equality before the law” and “colour-blindness.” The DA has never supported genuine transformation. It has opposed the National Minimum Wage, the Expropriation Without Compensation Bill, the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill, and the National Health Insurance (NHI) — not because these laws are flawed, but because they threaten the privileges of its real constituency: big corporations, conservative white males, and apartheid beneficiaries.
The Great VAT Deception: Speaking for the Poor, Acting for the Rich
Recently, the DA opportunistically claimed to stand “with the poor” in opposing a VAT increase — a position SAFTU and many progressive forces have also taken, but for very different reasons. SAFTU has consistently argued for tax justice, the shift of the burden from the poor to the rich, and the expansion of public services through a progressive fiscal framework.
The DA, however, used the VAT issue as a smokescreen. While pretending to champion the poor, it used the anti-VAT platform to bargain for concessions to its elite funders — pushing back against transformational legislation like the Employment Equity Act, the Expropriation Bill, and the NHI. Their anti-VAT campaign was not pro-poor, it was pro-corporate, designed to butter up the black electorate while serving their conservative, anti-transformation backers.
This is a dangerous, manipulative politics — using the legitimate grievances of the poor to preserve the privileges of the wealthy. It is political fraud.
The Latest Facts: Why These Amendments Are Justified
The DA’s court action comes as the 23rd Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) Annual Report (2022–2023)confirms just how entrenched inequality remains in the private sector:
- White individuals occupy 62.9% of top management positions, despite making up just 8% of the economically active population.
- African individuals — who make up 80.7% of the economically active population — hold only 16.9% of top posts.
- Indian and Coloured individuals account for 11.2% and 6.1%, respectively.
- People with disabilities hold a meagre 1.8% of top management roles — far below the 2% national target.
- Gender disparity remains glaring: males hold 73.5% of top management roles, with females at just 26.5%.
These figures show that transformation in the private sector has failed under the current legislative regime. The Employment Equity amendments that SAFTU supports are necessary to close the gap between constitutional aspirations and economic reality.
SAFTU Says: No to Legal Sabotage of Redress!
We call on all progressive forces, worker formations, and justice organisations to unite in defence of employment equity and oppose the DA’s legal sabotage of redress.
We demand:
- That the Department of Employment and Labour defend the law robustly in court and enforce compliance without fear or favour.
- That the judiciary recognise this challenge for what it is — a political attempt to reverse redress under the cover of legalism.
- That all workers reject the DA’s hypocrisy and see through its calculated use of poor people to advance the interests of big business.
This is a moment for clarity. The DA has declared itself — a party that uses black votes to protect corporate privilege.
We will not allow apartheid’s economic order to be preserved through courts, corporate pressure, or fake liberalism.
A Statement was issued on behalf of SAFTU by General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
For more details, contact the National Spokesperson at:
Newton Masuku
066 168 2157
Newtonm@saftu.org.za
