Latest news with #Neasa
Irish Examiner
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
'She definitely didn't lick it off the ground': Páidí O'Sé's granddaughter Fiadh, 10, crowned world Irish dancing champion
They say an ounce of breeding is better than a stone of feeding and so it has proven as Páidí Ó Sé's granddaughter Fiadh has become a world Irish dancing champion at the age of 10. Daughter of Páidí's eldest daughter Neasa and husband Pádraig, Fiadh claimed the discipline's highest prize in the U11 category in the Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne in Dublin last month. The Fitzgeralds moved to London from Kildare in 2021 and since then Fiadh has won a host of honours at South England regional and Irish national championships before last month's greatest achievement. 'Fiadh had been doing a bit of dancing at home with a guy called Keith Brett and when we moved over, an Irish dancing club was the only thing she wanted to find,' explains Neasa. Fiadh Fitzgerald with her trophy. 'We found a place in Ealing called Scoil Rince Céim Óir, she started from the beginning with them, moved through the grades quite quickly and qualified for the worlds last year in the south-eastern region. "The worlds took place in the National Convention Centre at Easter and she won, which was great because she hasn't been dancing for very long, only since six or seven. 'She now dances three or four times a week in the studio with her teacher Hilary Joyce Owens, a Galway woman. Not that she forgot about Ireland but being able to go dancing meant she wasn't as lonely or as homesick. "She's become very close to the teachers and students and it was a big part of her settling into life in London.' Needless to say, Neasa sees plenty of her late, great father in Fiadh. 'Oh, stop. She's very driven. She could throw her hand to anything and she just has that fire in the belly. She definitely didn't lick it off the ground.'
IOL News
07-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
South Africa considers increased import duties on renewable energy components
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition is reviewing import duties on key components used in renewable energy projects Image: Henk Kruger/Independent Newspapers The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition is reviewing import duties on key components used in renewable energy projects as part of a broader strategy to drive local production and reduce reliance on foreign supply chains. In a government gazette published on April 17 2025, the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) highlighted that South Africa's domestic demand trajectory, raw material resources, technological capacity, and manufacturing expertise position the country to potentially become a major player in both regional and international renewable energy supply chains. The proposed change, as outlined by ITAC, would involve increasing customs duties on components essential for solar, wind, and battery storage technologies. These proposals have also been published for public comment. "With careful calibration, an updated tariff structure could boost demand for, and enhance the competitive supply of, locally manufactured products and components. This shift would also unlock new export market opportunities and strengthen the competitiveness of the local renewable energy value chain," ITAC noted. The National Employers Association of South Africa (Neasa) has pointed out that, if the proposed tariff increases are implemented, the duty liability on these products could rise from R371 million to R7.2 billion, based on 2024 import data. "This increase is connected not only to current capacity but also to the possible future capacity to produce locally. If implemented, this would raise the duty liability on these products from R371 million to R7.2 billion," Neasa stated.
The Citizen
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
DA legal challenge to Employment Equity sparks political divide
The DA's case against employment equity amendments has intensified labour and political divisions across the country. Amendments in the Employment Equity Act came into effect on 1 January 2025. Picture: iStock Against the background of the DA challenging the Employment Equity (EE) Act, aimed at forcing companies to comply with the latest legislative changes, geared at redressing apartheid imbalances at workplace, the EE debate has fuelled political polarisation in the country's labour movement. The DA has argued that new employment quotas would 'cut hundreds of thousands of South Africans out of employment – unfair and unconstitutional' – a stance supported by the National Employers' Association of South Africa (Neasa), Solidarity and other unions on the right. This as President Cyril Ramaphosa and the country's largest labour federations Cosatu and Saftu, have seen EE as 'necessary and significant in redressing the past'. Employment Equity a 'necessary and significant in redressing the past' Writing in his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa said South Africa's labour laws were 'part of our effort to overcome the structural inequality of apartheid'. He said the latest report of the EE commission, showed 'how far we still have to go in ending the race-based disparities that exist in our economy'. ALSO READ: Affirmative-action measures must 'not go too far', argues DA in court 'Despite Africans constituting the majority of the economically active population, the majority of top management positions in the private sector are still held by white males.' Cosatu national spokesperson Matthew Parks said targets are 'a necessity, given how many sectors and employers in the private sector have chosen to ignore the call to embrace a nonracial society. 'There has been minimal progress in the banking, insurance, mining and retail sectors,' he said. Minimal progress in banking, insurance, mining and retail 'The DA case was lodged in 2023 as they were preparing to campaign for the 2024 elections. 'It's a tragedy that they sought to exploit and fuel fears of white, coloured and Indian workers – claiming their jobs were at risk.' ALSO READ: Workers' rights: Union members tend to become spectators while leaders take decisions Saftu national spokesperson Newton Masuku said the EE Act was 'significant to address discriminatory practices of the past'. 'The recent amendment to the Act was due to most companies not complying – setting targets and not meeting them.' Masuku said EE was 'not a racial law' – an argument dismissed by Neasa. Neasa disagrees that EE 'not a racial law' 'Since the dawn of the Employment Equity Act in 1998, the law has succeeded – not in achieving its stated aims – but rather in creating a marginal group of elites,' said Neasa spokesperson Chanté Dean. Dean added that this system of 'pseudo empowerment and veneer-thin transformation' is seeking to extend its tentacles even further. ALSO READ: Employment Equity Bill has 'shortcomings' 'What is truly cumbersome, is government's absolute ignorance to the effects of their destructive and business-debilitating policies and laws,' she added.
Daily Maverick
22-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Tick boxes or transformation? The compliance dilemma in the wake of sectoral equity targets
With strict new Employment Equity targets now in force, companies are scrambling to interpret, implement and even legally challenge the regulations. South Africa's transformation agenda entered a new phase this week as the Department of Employment and Labour's amended Employee Equity (EE) Regulations formally took effect. Gazetted on Tuesday, 15 April, the new regulations introduce five-year numerical targets for the top four occupational levels (junior, middle, senior and top management) across 18 sectors, ranging from finance to manufacturing. While the government said the changes are necessary to 'advance transformation and inclusivity in the South African labour market', backlash from employer organisations has been swift. The National Employers' Association of South Africa (Neasa), alongside business lobby group Sakeliga, has announced plans to take immediate legal action to block the regulations describing them as 'unconstitutional, impossible and harmful'. 'The state is acting unconstitutionally because it makes totalitarian infringements on the freedom of businesses, owners and employees to freely associate and trade,' Neasa told Daily Maverick. 'Under the guise of 'transformation', the EEAA [Employment Equity Amendment Act] insists on a stifling stagnation.' Guidelines or quotas? Neasa's court challenge hinges on two arguments: alleged procedural flaws in how the sectoral targets were set, and the claim that the targets amount to unconstitutional racial quotas. 'The targets constitute strict hiring quotas,' Neasa said in a written response, 'which create an absolute barrier to employment for non-designated groups.' Nadeem Mahomed, director of employment at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, clarified that the 'designated groups' defined in the Act include black people (comprising Africans, coloured people and Indians), women and persons with disabilities, provided they are South African citizens by birth or descent. 'The category also includes black individuals who obtained citizenship through naturalisation before 27 April 1994, or after that date if they were previously excluded from naturalisation by apartheid-era policies,' Mahomed added. Menèt Hamel, head of employment equity and skills development at HR consulting agency Human Alliance, explained that the percentage sector targets of the 'designated groups' have been supplied, meaning companies must calculate their own internal targets by race and gender. In its announcement of the new regulations, the Department of Employment and Labour stated that the regulations offer 'guidelines to assist employers and employees'. Yet the penalty for failing to align is clear: employers who don't comply with sector targets could face fines of up to 10% of their annual turnover. By 31 August 2025, employers are required to commence 'a comprehensive workplace analysis and either draft new employment equity plans or revise existing ones in accordance with the legislative amendments and the prescribed targets', Mahomed said. He also noted that the official reporting window for the 2025 cycle will open on 1 September 2025 and close on 15 January 2026. Compliance and confusion According to Hamel, employers may struggle to apply the targets correctly, particularly when it comes to demographic breakdowns across occupational levels. 'The biggest challenge employers face is interpreting the sector targets,' Hamel said. 'There is a lack of understanding regarding how to calculate the specific sector targets for African, coloured, Indian and white females across the upper four occupational levels.' Adding to the complexity is the dual requirement to consider both national and provincial economically active population (EAP) data. For some companies, especially those operating in multiple provinces or in sectors with underrepresentation, this makes benchmarking a logistic maze. 'Some employers might mistakenly judge their success by looking at the overall male and female target,' Hamel said. 'However, the department expects each specific race and gender category to be treated as a distinct target.' Digital tools step in To manage the administrative burden, some employers are turning to software to help them with EE compliance. Some of these systems offer data dashboards, documentation storage and scenario modelling features that could help employers plan workforce changes over the five-year EE cycle. 'We have adopted software to assist us in analysing workforce profiles, particularly in determining the specific race and gender sector targets for designated groups,' Hamel said. 'This is essential for ensuring consistent tracking and monitoring, especially given the five-year cycle we are entering.' These systems also allow multiple team members to log in simultaneously to create internal visibility and reduce the risk of errors tied to a single HR practitioner. 'Rather than relying on a single person managing an Excel sheet, multiple users can log into the same system,' she said. 'This fosters transparency and allows stakeholders to see how selections affect five-year targets.' Digital efficacy does not, however, equal transformation. 'HR or EE managers need to guard against financial penalties while ensuring that the process does not become merely a tick-box exercise,' Hamel said. 'Failing to do so risks losing the confidence of employees.' Mahomed also highlighted that while the sectoral targets are well-suited to quantitative tools, the real legal risks will emerge from incorrect claims of non-compliance. 'Transformation in the truest sense involves addressing deeply rooted structural inequalities, fostering inclusive workplace cultures and promoting human dignity,' he said. What this means for employers For companies with 50 or more employees, the message is clear: get your EE house in order. Whether through consultants, software tools or internal HR processes, employers must draft new EE plans for the 2025 to 2030 cycle. Documentation is key, especially as leadership teams may change over the five-year window. 'The HR team of today may not be the same HR team in 2030,' warned HR services company People Partners. 'If documentation and systems aren't well-managed, businesses may struggle to defend themselves during compliance reviews.' The Department of Employment and Labour will host national EE roadshows in May and June to help stakeholders interpret the changes. Details can be found on its website.
