Solidarity deals another blow to affirmative action in the SAPS

The South African Police Service (SAPS) may not fill a position in which a Solidarity member is acting in a temporary capacity and for which he has already applied three times with no success, before the trade union's court case on the matter has been heard. A court order in this regard was issued in the Johannesburg Labour Court today, after Solidarity and the SAPS had reached a settlement earlier in the week.

Johan Kruger, spokesperson for Solidarity, says the union applied for an urgent interdict to prevent the SAPS from filling the position in which Louis Frederik Buys, a member of the union, is currently acting in a temporary capacity. ‘The SAPS complied with Solidarity's demand before the application was heard, after which it was made an order of the court. Solidarity instituted legal proceedings against the SAPS on behalf of Buys, after he had applied three times for the position in which he was acting and was overlooked each time on the basis of affirmative action. Solidarity's demand is that Buys must be appointed in this or a similar position that has the same rank and that he must receive retroactive pay dating back to June 2011.'

In June this year, Solidarity filed documents with the Johannesburg Labour Court, requesting that the SAPS's affirmative action plan be declared invalid in its entirety, as it is contrary to the Employment Equity Act and the Constitution of South Africa. In the documents, Solidarity focuses on the SAPS's implementation of quotas according to the national racial demographics. This action followed on the 14 separate cases that Solidarity had already brought against the police service.

Facts regarding the Buys case

* Buys has been in the employ of the SAPS since June 1984.

* He has acted in the position of subsection commander in Decentralised Services and Support Service Level Agreement (DSS SLA) Management since 2004. The position was re-evaluated and equated to a colonel's position and Buys subsequently had to apply for it again.

* The position was advertised in 2007, but it was not filled. It was re-advertised in 2009, but was later withdrawn. Buys re-applied for the post in February 2011, after which he was shortlisted and invited for an interview. However, the post was withdrawn and the SAPS did not provide any reasons for its withdrawal. 

* Shortly thereafter Buys lodged an application for access to information regarding the withdrawal of the position. He was subsequently informed that the post had not been in line with the unit's employment equity profile, but he had been the chosen candidate.  

* Buys lodged a grievance in April this year. However, the grievance could not be resolved internally and was referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, after which the commissioner referred it to the Labour Court in September.

Statement issued by Johan Kruger, Spokesperson: Solidarity and Dirk Hermann, Deputy Chief Executive: Solidarity, October 25 2012

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter