Court declares SAPS’s employment equity plan unconstitutional – Solidarity 

26 January 2016  

The Johannesburg Labour Court today ruled in favour of trade union Solidarity that the employment equity plan of the South African Police Service (SAPS) was unlawful. The court ruled that the plan amounted to a quota system and therefore contravened the Employment Equity Act. The plan also violates the equality clause in section 9(2) of the Constitution.

 Solidarity Deputy General Secretary Johan Kruger said today’s ruling will prevent the SAPS from discriminating unfairly against any employee. “The unfair affirmative action practices of the SAPS will be nipped in the bud by today’s ruling. The ruling is furthermore significant since it provides the necessary legal basis for all future unfair discrimination cases. The ruling also highlights the duty of employers to align their employment equity plans with the relevant legislation,” Kruger said. 

 Solidarity has been conducting several unfair discrimination court cases on behalf of twelve of its members against the SAPS since 2005. The trade union has consistently argued that the SAPS’s employment equity plan is inconsistent with the provisions of the Employment Equity Act as it is based only on the national race demographics. Solidarity contends that, in the process, its members are being unfairly discriminated against.

Kruger said the judgment on the SAPS’s employment equity plan have a bearing on another twelve court cases of unfair discrimination Solidarity has been contesting against the SAPS since 2005. “Today’s judgment by the Labour Court is a huge victory for Solidarity, and the knowledge that the courts are not tolerating the unfair implementation of affirmative action, is reassuring,” Kruger said.

Issued by Dirk Hermann, Chief Executive: Soliarity, 26 January 2016