Investigating the implementation of the employment equity plan at Amatola Water Board in the province of the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Gotyi, Zamikhaya Gladwell
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: South Africa -- Amatola Water Board , Discrimination in employment -- South Africa , Affirmative action programs -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8280 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1016268
- Description: With the advent of democracy in South Africa in the early 1990s, the new government had to introduce major social, economic and political changes in order to undo the damages inflicted by many years of both colonialism and apartheid. These changes included the scrapping of discriminatory legislations and drafting of new laws to regulate employment practices. Amongst the pieces of legislation that the new South African government put in place, the Employment Equity Act, (Act 55 of 1998) was a major turning point in the elimination of discrimination at the workplace and redressing the injustices of the previous regimes. The Act is aimed at regulating the employment practices in an attempt to make the workplace a true reflection of the South African demographics. As a result, the promulgation of the Act had a major impact on the organisations in South Africa and has affected the way they now do business. Although the Act has been in existence for 14 years, progress in the implementation of employment equity and affirmative action in organisations in South Africa has been far less significant, particularly in the representation of women in managerial positions. In South Africa, an overwhelming majority of managerial positions are still occupied by men, with marginal women occupying management positions. Thus, women are still experiencing discrimination and under-representation at the workplace. Noting this trend at Amatola Water Board, the researcher decided to investigate the extent of progress the organisation has achieved in the implementation of its Employment Equity Plan 2009-2014. The objectives of the study were to identify factors that could assist the organisation to effectively implement the Plan, identify the impediments that pose challenges to effective implementation of the Plan in the organisation, and establish the perceptions of employees on the implementation of the Plan in the organisation. To collect data for the study, the researcher used a qualitative research approach. In this regard, the researcher used questionnaires and interviews to collect qualitative data. A sample of fifty employees was selected for the administration of questionnaires and four additional employees were selected for interviews. Both samples were selected by purposive sampling. The study has established that employment equity is still a challenge that South African organisations are struggling to implement. The study has revealed that, at Amatola Water Board, there are indeed various factors that contribute to the low representation of women in managerial positions. These factors include the lack of management support for the implementation of the Employment Equity Plan, recruitment processes that fail to recruit sufficient numbers of qualified applicants, training and development practices that fail to produce the required number of qualified employees, unconducive organisational culture, veiled racial and gender stereotypes, and inadequate communication. Suggestions and recommendations to address these challenges have been espoused.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Gotyi, Zamikhaya Gladwell
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: South Africa -- Amatola Water Board , Discrimination in employment -- South Africa , Affirmative action programs -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8280 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1016268
- Description: With the advent of democracy in South Africa in the early 1990s, the new government had to introduce major social, economic and political changes in order to undo the damages inflicted by many years of both colonialism and apartheid. These changes included the scrapping of discriminatory legislations and drafting of new laws to regulate employment practices. Amongst the pieces of legislation that the new South African government put in place, the Employment Equity Act, (Act 55 of 1998) was a major turning point in the elimination of discrimination at the workplace and redressing the injustices of the previous regimes. The Act is aimed at regulating the employment practices in an attempt to make the workplace a true reflection of the South African demographics. As a result, the promulgation of the Act had a major impact on the organisations in South Africa and has affected the way they now do business. Although the Act has been in existence for 14 years, progress in the implementation of employment equity and affirmative action in organisations in South Africa has been far less significant, particularly in the representation of women in managerial positions. In South Africa, an overwhelming majority of managerial positions are still occupied by men, with marginal women occupying management positions. Thus, women are still experiencing discrimination and under-representation at the workplace. Noting this trend at Amatola Water Board, the researcher decided to investigate the extent of progress the organisation has achieved in the implementation of its Employment Equity Plan 2009-2014. The objectives of the study were to identify factors that could assist the organisation to effectively implement the Plan, identify the impediments that pose challenges to effective implementation of the Plan in the organisation, and establish the perceptions of employees on the implementation of the Plan in the organisation. To collect data for the study, the researcher used a qualitative research approach. In this regard, the researcher used questionnaires and interviews to collect qualitative data. A sample of fifty employees was selected for the administration of questionnaires and four additional employees were selected for interviews. Both samples were selected by purposive sampling. The study has established that employment equity is still a challenge that South African organisations are struggling to implement. The study has revealed that, at Amatola Water Board, there are indeed various factors that contribute to the low representation of women in managerial positions. These factors include the lack of management support for the implementation of the Employment Equity Plan, recruitment processes that fail to recruit sufficient numbers of qualified applicants, training and development practices that fail to produce the required number of qualified employees, unconducive organisational culture, veiled racial and gender stereotypes, and inadequate communication. Suggestions and recommendations to address these challenges have been espoused.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Unfair discrimination and affirmative action in the South African Police Service
- Authors: Taylor, Nicola
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Discrimination in employment -- South Africa , Affirmative action programs -- South Africa , South African Police
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8693 , vital:26421
- Description: Affirmative action is the purposeful, planned placement and development of competent or potentially competent persons in or to positions from which they were debarred in the past. Affirmative action is an attempt to redress past population, on a local and national level. One of the requirements of affirmative action in South Africa is that it must target persons who have been discriminted by unfair discrimination in the past. the Emplyment Equity Act was brought into the South African government to bring equality to all. Unfair discrimination is a branch of affirmative action in which individuals are discriminated against not only on race, but includes colour, sex, religion, age, disability, language and the likes. Section 9 of the Constitution of South Africa prohibits unfair discrimination against any person on any of the listed grounds. Section 2 of the Employment Equity Act is in place to aim to achieve equity within the workplace by promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment as well as eliminating unfair discrimination. Section 6, like the Constitution, lists grounds against which an individual may not be discriminated. Historically, the South African Police Services were a deeply-routed racist organization, where only white males were afforded better opportunities. This however changed after South Africa became a democratic country and with the introduction of the SAPS Act. Transformation within the SAPS took place after South Africa moved towards a democratic society.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Taylor, Nicola
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Discrimination in employment -- South Africa , Affirmative action programs -- South Africa , South African Police
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8693 , vital:26421
- Description: Affirmative action is the purposeful, planned placement and development of competent or potentially competent persons in or to positions from which they were debarred in the past. Affirmative action is an attempt to redress past population, on a local and national level. One of the requirements of affirmative action in South Africa is that it must target persons who have been discriminted by unfair discrimination in the past. the Emplyment Equity Act was brought into the South African government to bring equality to all. Unfair discrimination is a branch of affirmative action in which individuals are discriminated against not only on race, but includes colour, sex, religion, age, disability, language and the likes. Section 9 of the Constitution of South Africa prohibits unfair discrimination against any person on any of the listed grounds. Section 2 of the Employment Equity Act is in place to aim to achieve equity within the workplace by promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment as well as eliminating unfair discrimination. Section 6, like the Constitution, lists grounds against which an individual may not be discriminated. Historically, the South African Police Services were a deeply-routed racist organization, where only white males were afforded better opportunities. This however changed after South Africa became a democratic country and with the introduction of the SAPS Act. Transformation within the SAPS took place after South Africa moved towards a democratic society.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2012
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