Free SA has raised serious concerns over government’s draft Employment Equity Code, warning that South Africa cannot afford employment rules that continue to make race a central consideration in the workplace.
The draft Code requires designated employers to measure workforce representation according to race, gender and disability, while taking demographic and sector targets into account when setting employment goals. It also cautions employers against perpetuating the “over-representation” of groups exceeding applicable demographic benchmarks.
While the Code states that numerical targets may not become quotas or absolute barriers, Free SA is concerned that racial targets will continue to influence who receives employment and advancement opportunities.
“South Africa has an unemployment crisis, not a shortage of racial regulation,” said Gideon Joubert, spokesperson for Free SA. “A person looking for work should be judged on their skills, qualifications, experience and suitability for the job, not reduced to a racial category on a spreadsheet.”
Free SA maintains that employment policy should protect South Africans against unfair discrimination while ensuring that racial targets do not become barriers to opportunity in practice.
The organisation is calling for clear safeguards against racial quotas and absolute barriers, fair consideration of every individual, and employment policies that make it easier for businesses to invest, expand and create jobs.
“Government should be asking how we get more South Africans into work, not how we divide existing jobs according to race,” Joubert added. “Our priority must be expanding opportunity and building an economy in which every South African has the chance to succeed.”
Free SA is encouraging South Africans to participate in the public consultation process and make their voices heard before the deadline of 22 September 2026.
