CHINESE tech giant Huawei Technologies South African unit and the Department of Employment and Labour have reached an out of court settlement for alleged employment equity violations.
This follows the department’s application to the Labour Court on February 11, in which it said Huawei had violated the Employment Equity Policy after an audit in 2020 found the company’s workforce comprised 90 percent foreign nationals.
Huawei is required by the act to employ 60 percent South Africans and 40 percent foreign nationals.
In a joint media statement, the department said it had accepted Huawei South Africa’s employment equity plan, which addressed the equitable representation of South Africans to above 50 percent within three years, especially from designated groups as defined in the Employment Equity Act.
The amount of the settlement was not disclosed.
In addition, in a joint attempt to address South Africa’s digital divide and ICT skills gap, Huawei and the department have agreed to collaborate on skilling the unemployed, “which is an investment in youth upskilling and employment; an important pillar in achieving the country’s targets for economic growth, particularly in digital technologies”.
The Development Programme included internships aligned with the duration of the employment equity plan period and would draw on candidates from the designated groups, especially women and those from rural areas, sourced from the department’s database.
Advocate Fikiswa Bede, the chief director, statutory and advocacy services, at the Department of Employment and Labour, said: “The parties see this as a win-win, as it fosters a public and private partnership that facilitates the transfer of skills, while also addressing the issue of unemployment by creating jobs in the ICT sector.”
“Both the Department of Employment and Labour and Huawei have expressed mutual satisfaction with the outcome, ” the statement said.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE