A lecturer from the University of Johannesburg (UJ)’s Faculty of Law, Nicole Deokiram has been appointed as the chairperson of the Commission for Employment Equity.
The Commission of Employment Equity is an entity of the Department of Employment and Labour, and was established in terms of section 30 of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1988 to, among other things, advise the minister on codes of good practice issued by the minister, regulations made by the minister, policies and other matters concerning this Act, as well as perform any other prescribed function.
Deokiram is currently a lecturer in Public Law at UJ’s Faculty of Law. She is admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa, a research associate at the Centre for International and Comparative Labour and Social Security Law at the UJ and a doctorate degree candidate (in constitutional law) at the UJ. She specialises in labour law and obtained a masters degree in labour law – cum laude, from UJ.
Previously, she was employed by Bowmans, one of the top 5 law firms, as a candidate attorney where she gained extensive experience in corporate employment and employment litigation. She was involved in advising both international and local corporate clients on the various labour laws, including the Employment Equity Act and the codes of good practice, in a variety of matters including due diligence matters.
Deokiram was also a Bowmans Employment Equity Member from January 2019 to January 2020. She is the lecturer for legislative drafting, a non-subsidized programme at the UJ, and the skills and knowledge needed to lead such a programme fits well with her new role as Chairperson of the Commission for Employment Equity. Her areas of interest includes labour law, constitutional law, jurisprudence, interpretation of statutes and legislative drafting.
As chairperson, she will lead the Commission in advising the Minister on critical aspects of employment equity, including the development of codes of good practice, regulatory recommendations and policy guidance. Her responsibilities will also encompass recognizing outstanding achievements by employers, conducting essential research and setting benchmarks to further the goals of the Employment Equity Act.
This is a task she looks forward to tackling: “I have a focus-interest in discriminative matters, including racial, gender and religious discriminative matters. My doctoral research is based on religious discrimination in South Africa, with thesis titled “religious public holidays and the rights to religious freedom and equality”. I ultimately wish to promote the constitutional principles of human dignity, equality and freedom for all in the workplace, coupled with inclusivity. I relish the opportunity to use this role on the Commission towards the realisation of this ultimate dream and wish to thank all of my mentors and everyone who has supported me through this journey, including my parents, Jay Deokiram and the late Premilla Deokiram ”, she said.
