IRR returns to Department of Employment and Labour to hand over petition of 17,000

The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) has returned to the Department of Employment and Labour to hand over the No More Race Laws petition, now carrying more than 17,000 signatures.

Says Makone Maja, IRR Strategic Engagements Manager: “In just six weeks since our initial attempt to hand over the petition, the number of South Africans signing the petition to bring an end to race laws has jumped from 12,373 to 17,035. We have focused on the Department because it has been leading the effort to make race laws more stringent and prominent through the passage of the Employment Equity Amendment Act.”

The No More Race Laws petition is an extension of the No More Race Laws Bill – an IRR draft law to repeal all racialised statutes and align all legislation with the constitutional principle of non-racialism. The petition argues that race laws are a major impediment to economic growth due to the hostility it creates toward investment at a time when investment is desperately needed to end unemployment and poverty.

Maja says: “The message to the Department is clear: deliver pro-employment and pro-worker policies. These are policies that increase the likelihood of employment and make it easier for businesses to hire more people. Much of the evidence points to race laws being antithetical to this mission.”

The recent Quarterly Labour Force Survey from Statistics South Africa shows that unemployment has worsened by 0.3 percentage points, rising to 33.2% in the second quarter of 2025. In a troubling reflection on South Africa’s economic performance in recent remarks at the National School of Government, Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said South Africa's growth rate was worse than 90% of other economies in 2024, and worse than 87% over the past decade.

Maja concludes: “Racialised empowerment must be weighed against these statistics. Is it improving growth and reducing unemployment? Or has it been driving fake transformation by serving the interests of a few, rather than genuinely driving economic inclusion and upward social mobility for all, particularly poor people?”

Media contact: Makone Maja, IRR Strategic Engagements Manager Tel: 079 418 6676 Email: makone@irr.org.za

Media enquiries: Michael Morris Tel: 066 302 1968 Email: michael@irr.org.za