The Department of Employment and Labour and Huawei Technologies South Africa have reached an out of court settlement over allegations the Chinese multinational telecoms giant had breached South Africa’s employment equity policy.
The department had, on 11 February 2022, filed an application at the Labour Court alleging Huawei Technologies South Africa was audited in 2020 and found to be non-compliant in that it employs approximately 90% foreign nationals, which violates the employment equity policy.
Last month, the Chinese-based company said the parties entered into talks to reach a settlement agreement and agreed to stay court proceedings instituted by the department, pending the outcome of the negotiations.
In a joint statement today, the organisations say the department has accepted Huawei South Africa’s employment equity plan, which addresses equitable representation of South Africans to above 50% within three years, especially from designated groups as defined in the Employment Equity Act.
The statement adds that in a joint attempt to address South Africa’s digital divide and ICT skills gap, Huawei and the labour 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, which includes internships, aligns with the duration of the employment equity plan period, and will draw on candidates from the designated groups, especially women and those from rural areas, sourced from the labour department database.
“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,” says advocate Fikiswa Bede, chief director of statutory and advocacy services at the Department of Employment and Labour.
Both the department and Huawei have expressed mutual satisfaction with the outcome, they note.
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