Union Solidarity plans to take legal action against Dis-Chem in the Labour Court, because it believes the company overstepped by imposing an “absolute barrier” when it came to staff hires.
In an interview with News24, Solidarity CEO Dirk Hermann vowed to take the matter “all the way to the Constitutional Court if needs be”, but said the union was confident its case would succeed in the Labour Court.
But Dis-Chem insists it has not placed a moratorium on hiring and promoting white people.
In a statement on Monday evening, the company said it was aware of Solidarity’s intended legal action, and then “any action instituted will be strenuously defended”.
“Dis-Chem will continue to strive to comply with the spirit of the Constitution and other applicable legislation and accordingly, continue to give preferential employment to suitably qualified persons from designated groups to ensure their equitable representation in all occupational levels. There is simply no ban on employing and promoting white individuals.”
Solidarity said it was taking the JSE-listed pharmaceutical retailer to court after it “missed the October 21 deadline to indicate whether it had withdrawn its ban on employing and promoting white people”. The first legal papers will be served on Dis-Chem this week.
An internal message to staff signed by CEO Ivan Saltzman was leaked on social media almost two weeks ago. The memo banned hiring white people, but following criticism from some quarters, the retailer later withdrew the wording of the memo, standing by its “intention”.
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“We reiterate that while the wording of the internal memo was withdrawn, its intention remains,” it said.
“All appointments at junior, middle and senior management level will require CEO approval, and appointments will be made based on merit and the necessity of giving employment preference to previously disadvantaged individuals,” the company said in a statement.
Solidarity believed the retailer went further than the Employment Equity Act allowed in its original memorandum to staff.
He said the union’s case was not based on Dis-Chem applying affirmative action as this is “quite clearly defined in law in South Africa”. But it contends that the company went “even further than the Act allows, and that is by introducing absolute barriers and quotas”.
“At this stage, the moratorium on the employment and promotion of white employees is an absolute barrier and the Act does not allow for that. That means that they are trying to set a new norm for the private sector and that is what we must fight.”
Source: News 24
