Huawei allegedly ignored a foreign labour quota agreement with SA’s labour department, with foreign staff now at 90%, instead of 40%. (Photo for illustration: Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)
The Department of Employment and Labour and Huawei Technologies South Africa, have reached an out of court settlement.
The settlement follows the department’s filing papers at the Labour Court on 11 February 2022, relating to Huawei’s 90 % foreigner staff complement.
Huawei has since committed to a new employment equity plan that will see 50% of locals, being absorbed into the company over a three-year period.
The Department has accepted this plan, which addresses the equitable representation of South Africans within the Chinese-owned tech giant,
“In addition, in a joint attempt to address South Africa’s digital divide and ICT skills gap, Huawei and DoEL have agreed to collaborate on skilling the unemployed,” said the parties in a joint statement.
The skills transfer programme serves as an investment in youth upskilling and employment which is an important pillar in achieving the country’s targets for economic growth, particularly in digital technologies.
The Development Programme, which includes internships, aligns with the duration of the employment equity plan period.
Candidates from the designated groups, especially women and those from rural areas, are expected to be sourced from the DoEL database.
“The parties see this as a win-win, as it fosters a public and private partnership that facilitates the transfer of skills, while also addressing the issue of unemployment by creating jobs in the ICT sector,” said the Chief Director, Statutory and Advocacy Services, at the Department of Employment and Labour Advocate Fikiswa Bede,
Both the Department of Employment and Labour and Huawei have expressed mutual satisfaction with the outcome.
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