The Department of Labour has decided not to immediately pursue legal action against those companies it claims did not submit their 2005 employment equity reports on time.
The department`s spokesman Mokgadi Pela says a high-level meeting is being arranged between the minister of labour, Membathisi Mdladlana, and several JSE-listed companies, among them ICT firms.
The agenda will cover why these companies have been slow in implementing employment equity, especially over the last five years, and look at how that process can be expedited, he says.
Pela could not divulge names of specific companies the department would meet with, but did indicate several ICT firms listed on the Johannesburg bourse were among them.
Two weeks ago, the department threatened legal action against companies it listed on its 'name and shame` list for allegedly failing to submit reports on time. Among those listed were several ICT companies, including Vodacom, Cell C, MTN and Faritec.
Other ICT companies on the department`s list included Bytes Technology Group, Compact Disk Technologies, Dimension Data`s Management Services, HP SA, Nashua Mobile, Sony and the State IT Agency.
Backtrack?
Pela now says legal action could be dropped pending the outcome of the meeting. "We do not want to put the cart before the horse. It depends on the meeting."
In September, Pela said the department would pursue fraud charges against companies on its list of over 1 000 firms. "There will be no apology forthcoming; we have done our homework and they will meet us in court."
His remarks came on the back of Mdladlana`s launch of the sixth Commission for Employment Equity Annual Report, during which he said he was disturbed by a declining trend in reporting by employers.
"May I remind designated employers that when they refrain from submitting their employment equity reports, they are in breach of the law," he noted.
At the time, Cell C, MTN, Vodacom and Faritec said they were surprised to be on the list as they could prove they had submitted their reports.
Faritec CEO Simon Tomlinson will not attend the meeting, which is expected to take place this month. He says had he been invited, he would attend in order to comment on the way in which the matter was originally handled.
However, Faritec has since ascertained that the department expected it to report equity at holding company level, which it did not do as the holding company does not employ anyone. Instead, it reported at subsidiary level.
Subsequently, the company has resubmitted and explained its structure, with which the department is reportedly happy.
In addition, today marks the deadline for the submission of the 2006 equity reports and once these reports have been analysed, the minister is expected to applaud those companies that have excelled, says Pela.
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