UPDATE: On Friday January 31 2014, Solidarity trade union filed an urgent request for an interdict to stop the Correctional Services Department from ignoring the Labour Court's previous court order to stop its 'affirmative action' 's racial discrimination against white and coloured employees. " Solidarity asked the Labour Court to order Correctional Services to obey the court order while they are awaiting the outcome of their appeal against the ruling. Coloured workers demonstrated outside the Labour Court protesting against the discrimination by the prison service.
The court-order was issued by the Labour Court, but the Correctional Services Dept has decided to 'ignore the order pending their appeal'.
The ruling was made after the court heard that 'no white men will be promoted for next five years in SA prison service
Saturday 4 May 2013 - CAPE TOWN. "White men will not be promoted for the next five years in the Department of Correctional Services.'
This is not a perception - that is the reality, testified Pieter Davids in the Labour Court charges against the DCS by ten workers and Solidarity trade union.
The applicants want the Labour Court to declare as illegal the prison services application of the Broad-Based-Black-Economic-Empowerment laws.
Solidariteit acts on behalf of its clients Linda-Jean Fortuin, Christopher February, André Jonkers, Geo-nita Baartman, Pieter Davids, Derick Wehr, Jan Kotze, Desiree Merkeur, Deidre Jordaan and Teresa Abrahams op.
Each of these workers were recommended as the best candidates for posts they had applied for - and each time their skin colour was the only criteria for not getting the appointments.
In each case the Department of Correctional Services argued that 'nationwide demography of South Africa" (not the overwhelmingly white/coloured demography in the Western Cape) had to be the only criteria which could be used by them under the Broad-Based-Black-Economic-Empowerment Act.
Solidarity maintains that the prison service 's blatant policy of absolute racial-representation is unfair, irrational and illegal. Solidarity will ask that its clients will be promoted as requested and that
the BBBEE-ratios maintained by the Department must be declared illegal as a whole.
Mr Davids testified that of the 600 workers at the Allandale prison in Paarl, there are 140 white men - the vast majority of whom are older than 50 years.
"Only three or four of them have ambitions left to get promoted. The others believe they
won't ever get promoted,' he testified.
He pointed that only one younger white man was appointed recently and since the prison services adopted its targets under the BBBEE-laws, not one white man has been promoted.
Davids said he's a senior corrective-service-official and applied for a post in the human resources department.
He was recommended as the best candidate for this post - but he didn't get it, even though he has been amongst the top-performers since
1996 amongst the department's staffers and received two commendations.
The advocate for the prison service asked him 'whether he performed so well because of the 'advantages you enjoyed during apartheid'?
Davids replied that he was appointed in 1996 - after apartheid had been ended. "One could only be promoted as the system allowed. There was no 'advantaged treatment'.
To disadvantage me nineteen years for things which were done (by others) in the past , considering how well I do my job,
... well I feel that's unfair and discriminatory'.
The hearing was postponed to 29 July.
http://www.regsdienste.co.za/solidariteit-vs-die-dkd-vakante-poste-word-nie-gevul-nie-saak-uitgestel/
List of court cases at Labour Court http://www.regsdienste.co.za/kategorie/gerapporteerde-sake/
http://www.labour.gov.za/downloads/documents/annual-reports/employment-equity/2010-2011/CEE%20Annual%20Report%202011a.pdf
---http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page72308?oid=286122&sn=Marketingweb+detail&pid=90389
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