THE Employment Equity Commission, under the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation, last month summoned 18 companies due to non-compliance with affirmative action provisions.
This comes after the affirmative action submitted to the commission was disapproved for not meeting the requirements of the act
Some of the summoned companies include the Government Institutions Pension Fund, the Namibia Airports Company, the Namibia Ports Authority (Namport), Walvis Bay Salt Holding, Hebei Xinjian Construction, and Triumphant College.
Employment equity commissioner Otniel Podewiltz said the Affirmative Action (Employment) Act set some requirements for an affirmative action report to be approved.
“However, these relevant employers did not meet some of the requirements hence disapproval of their reports.
“The reasons vary from employer to employer and they include but are not limited to: failing to submit proof of consultation with the employees’ representatives, which is needed for the purpose of developing and implementing an affirmative action plan; some employers submitted affirmative action reports which entailed questionable figures or insufficient planning, among others,” he said.
Podewiltz said the review panel discussed the shortcomings with the employers, and they were each given an opportunity to state and explain their issues, as well as provide an undertaking indicating remedial actions to address the shortcomings.
“These employers are expected to submit their reports, and the commission will surely follow up and assess progress on those remedial actions,” he said.