Huawei in out of court deal over South African labour dispute

Huawei Technologies South Africa has reached an out of court settlement with the department of employment & labour, which accused it of failing to comply with local hiring quotas.

The department took Huawei to the labour court on 11 February seeking a R1.5-million fine, or 2% of the South African subsidiary of the Chinese technology giant’s 2020 turnover, for the alleged breaches.

“The department has accepted Huawei South Africa’s employment equity plan, which addresses equitable representation of South Africans to above 50% within three years, especially from designated groups as defined in the Employment Equity Act,” Huawei said on Tuesday.

“In addition, in a joint attempt to address South Africa’s digital divide and ICT skills gap, Huawei and [the department] have agreed to collaborate on skilling the unemployed, which is an investment in youth upskilling and employment — an important pillar in achieving the country’s targets for economic growth, particularly in digital technologies.”

This development programme will include internships and is aligned with the duration of the employment equity plan period. It will draw on candidates from the “designated groups”, especially women and those from rural areas, sourced from the departmental database.  – © 2022 NewsCentral Media

Read: Huawei sued for allegedly violating SA employment equity rules