WINDHOEK – White employees who comprise only 0.4 percent of the country’s workforce accounted for 29 percent of positions at management levels, according to the 2017/18 Employment Equity Commission (EEC) report tabled in parliament last week.
According to the report, tabled by Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation Erkki Nghimtina, relevant employers reported an aggregated total of 277 745 employees across all industries during the review period, representing an increase of five percent in the number of employees recorded during the previous corresponding period. The report says white employees accounted for 56 percent of positions at the executive director level, unchanged for the percentage of executive directors recorded during the previous corresponding review period.
Out of 1 268 executive director positions, white employees accounted for 708 positions, previously disadvantaged 386, foreigners 164 while people with disability accounted for 10 positions.
Out of 3 711 senior management positions, whites accounted for 1 504 positions, previously disadvantaged 1 738, foreigners 439, while people with disability accounted for 30 positions.
In terms of middle management positions, out of 11 052 positions, whites accounted for 2 380, previously disadvantaged 7 929, foreigners 681, whereas people with disability accounted for 62 positions.
In terms of specialised skilled and senior supervisory, out of 22 203 positions, whites accounted for 9 065, previously disadvantaged 18 204, foreigners 1 482, while people with disability accounted for 112 positions.
Nghimtina, presenting the report to lawmakers, said previously racially disadvantaged people comprised 94 percent of the total workforce reported on during the 2017/18 review period, with whites accounting for 30 percent of executive directors.
This disproportionate racial composition of managers, according to Nghimtina, has been consistent over the years and is therefore a cause for serious concern, and it is apparent that racial prejudice continues to influence employment decisions in favour of white candidates and thus perpetuating white-controlled management.
Furthermore, Nghimtina said a total of 923 relevant employers submitted their reports to the commission during the period under review, which is an increase of five percent in the number of affirmative action reports received during the previous corresponding review period. Similarly, he said the number of employees covered by affirmative action reports received by the EEC increased by five percent compared to the 263 720 employees reported on during the previous corresponding review period.
“Only 0.4 percent employees reported on were persons with disabilities, while 46 percent of the workforce were women and one percent were non-Namibians,” he added.
Furthermore, Nghimtina told lawmakers that the case management system has improved the communication link between the EEC and designated employers.
He also informed lawmakers that the registration of affirmative action reports that are submitted annually by employers is now done through the computerised system and the appointment of review officers assigned to review the employers’ reports is now done online.
“The online communication with employers has made the administration, accessing and retrieval of data and records very efficient and convenient,” he said, adding that the manual system the ECC had used before the roll-out of the computerised case management system has now been phased out.
Also, he told parliamentarians that the commission has scaled down the frequency of its workplace visits, a move he said was done to reduce costs.
“I encourage employers and workers to visit the commission’s website in order to access the information which would enable them to fulfill the obligation under the law,” he said.
“The online communication through the case management system made it also possible for the commission to address employers’ queries online, thus making on-site visits less necessary,” he added.