Solidarity v. Dis-Chem – court battle begins

24 October 2022

Solidarity is going to take Dis-Chem to court after the pharmaceutical giant missed the October 21 deadline to indicate whether it had withdrawn its controversial ban on employing and promoting white people.
 
Solidarity will serve the first legal papers on Dis-Chem this week still. Solidarity wrote to Dis-Chem on 18 October putting Dis-Chem on terms to indicate whether the controversial racial policy had been withdrawn. If not the case, Solidarity reserved the right to litigate.

Dis-Chem has ignored this deadline.
 
“The entire South Africa wants to know whether Dis-Chem has only withdrawn the controversial memorandum or the policy as well. Instead of providing certainty, Dis-Chem refuses to disclose information. Dis-Chem’s statements are vague and do nothing to create certainty. The question is simply this: Is there a ban on employing and promoting white employees? The fact that Dis-Chem refuses to confirm the information, leaves us with no choice but to accept that the policy stands,” Dr Dirk Hermann, Solidarity’s chief executive said.
 
According to Solidarity, Dis-Chem goes beyond what the Employment Equity Act allows. Solidarity’s litigation strategy will be a mix of an application for disclosure of information and an application to the Labour Court to declare Dis-Chem’s racial policy unlawful.
 
Solidarity says the Employment Equity Act prohibits absolute ceilings and quotas and requires flexibility. The Act itself and case law in this regard are clear about this.
 
“There are legal bounds to race legislation. Dis-Chem is now setting a new norm for the private sector. The law cannot be broken in an attempt to comply with an Act. Judicial decisions too have clearly shown that there are rights of white employees that must also be protected. Racial legislation and policy must not be punishment but must focus on redress. Dis-Chem wants to establish a hard-line racial policy. The goal is simply racial representivity and it has nothing to do with redress,” Hermann said.
 
Commotion broke out on social media after a memorandum from Dis-Chem’s CEO Ivan Saltzman, imposing a ban on the employment and promotion of white people, leaked out. In the memorandum, Saltzman expresses fear that Dis-Chem could be fined if it does not meet its race targets.

Issued by Anton van der Bijl, Deputy Chief Executive: Legal Matters, 24 October 2022