Solidarity launches major campaign to force DCS to withdraw appeal in affirmative action case
4 February 2015
Trade union Solidarity launched a major campaign today in a bid to force the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) to withdraw its appeal in the controversial affirmative action case in the Western Cape. The DCS will ask the Labour Appeal Court in Cape Town to overturn the Labour Court's ruling in terms of which the national racial demographics may not be applied in the provinces. The appeal case will be heard in Cape Town on 19 February.
Solidarity's campaign will include radio and newspaper advertisements, as well as a major petition campaign in which the DCS will be requested by the public to withdraw its appeal. Applicants in the affirmative action case and their supporters were the first to sign the petition.
"A decision to apply the national racial demographics in the Western Cape is neither justifiable on the grounds of legal arguments, nor morally justifiable. Tax-payers in the Western Cape cannot allow their tax money to be used in an attempt of the state to obtain a court ruling in terms of which tax-payers will be discriminated against. According to the DCS's argument, the number of coloured South Africans in the Western Cape has to be managed down from 51% of the Western Cape population to 8,8%, which is the national figure of coloured South Africans," said Dirk Herman, Chief Executive of Solidarity.
"We call on the Western Cape as well as all other South Africans to make their voices heard in protest against the DCS's ideological approach to affirmative action. The only way the DCS will be able to give effect to its ideology is by implementing a large-scale social engineering programme. This kind of ideology is not morally justifiable and arguments in favour of it do not belong in court. We therefore urge the public to sign a petition in order to put pressure on the DCS to withdraw its appeal," said Hermann.
People who want to support the petition can SMS the word "DCS" to 34802 SMS or visit the webpagewww.stopkwotas.co.za.
Statement issued by Dirk Hermann, Chief Executive: Solidarity, and Dirk Groenewald, Head: Centre for Fair Labour Practices, February 4 2015
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