Helicopter hero's family ask for justice in affirmative action case - Solidarity
Legal battle to continue tomorrow
The battle for justice for Tinus Gouws, one of the heroes who recently died in a tragic helicopter accident, will continue posthumously in the Labour Court in Johannesburg tomorrow. The court is now being approached to compel the South African Police Service (SAPS) to finalise the pre-trial minutes in the cases of Gouws and seven other police members so that the cases can be placed on the court roll.
Nearly four months after Gouws and six other police members were killed in a tragic helicopter accident and the national police chief, General Bheki Cele, made promises about protecting the families of the deceased, the SAPS is trying to prevent justice from prevailing. This is according to the trade union Solidarity, following the request by the state prosecutor in the affirmative action cases being handled by Solidarity on behalf of Gouws and seven other polices members that Gouws' case be withdrawn.
Solidarity is currently handling eight cases regarding the implementation of affirmative action in the SAPS. These cases have been consolidated in two groups: the implementation of affirmative action as is relates to the promotion of employees, and the implementation of affirmative action as it relates to the reappointment of former police members. Gouws, who had been employed by the SAPS for over 20 years, was not promoted from inspector to captain due to the implementation of affirmative action, even though he was the best candidate for promotion.
However, Solidarity and Gouws' family have reiterated that Gouws' case will continue posthumously.
Meanwhile, the legal battle will continue in the Labour Court in Johannesburg tomorrow. Solidarity approached the court to compel the SAPS to sign the pre-trial minutes. The trade union has been trying for over a year to finalise the minutes and several drafts have already been presented.
"Until the minutes have been signed by both parties, the cases cannot be placed on the roll," explained deputy general secretary of Solidarity, Dirk Hermann. "We get the impression that the state will do everything in its power to frustrate the legal processes. Even if justice could not be done for Gouws, it must still be done for his family," Hermann explained.
If the SAPS does show up for tomorrow's proceedings, the judge will order that the pre-trial minutes be finalised and signed in the court building. If the SAPS does not show up, the cases will be placed on the unopposed roll. This means that the judge's ruling will be made based only on Solidarity's application and the SAPS will not be given the opportunity to oppose it.
According to Hermann, a victory in the affirmative action case will have definite benefits for Gouws' family. "If the court ultimately decides that the implementation of affirmative action was unfair, a request can be made for compensation to be paid to Gouws' estate for the period in which he was not promoted. In addition, the promotion will result in an improvement in the pension payout to Gouws' family."
Hermann is positive that Solidarity will achieve success in the affirmative action cases. "The trade union has already won three similar cases and these eight cases are based on the same principles," Hermann said. In the latest victory, the Department of Correctional Services last week conceded that errors had been made in the application for the promotion of Solidarity member Herman Denysschen and it was decided to promote him retrospectively.
Statement issued by Dirk Hermann, Deputy general secretary: Solidarity, November 16 2010
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
