Eliminating racial discrimination of employees: An assessment of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, as amended

Abstract

The Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, as amended, was enacted inter alia to "achieve equity in the workplace by promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination". In terms of the Act, no person may discriminate against an employee unfairly, but research shows that racial discrimination of black employees persists, despite the promulgation of the Act. The objective of this article is to determine whether the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, as amended is the appropriate vehicle to eliminate racial discrimination of black employees. This is undertaken through the lens of critical race theory, which analyses the ways in which ignoring the importance of race perpetuates oppression. Although critical race theory was developed in the United States, it is relevant to South Africa given that black employees are still subjected to racial discrimination even many years after the end of apartheid. The tenets of critical race theory include structural determinism; the critique of liberalism; social science insights, historical analysis and multidisciplinary thinking; intersectionality; storytelling, narrative, and naming one's reality; and anti-essentialism. This article examines each tenet and shows how they relate to the Act. The contention is that the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, as amended is not the most appropriate vehicle for eliminating racial discrimination of black employees in South Africa.