Cape Town - Trade union Solidarity has launched a campaign
to get Woolworths Holdings [JSE:WHL] to retract job advertisements it believes
discriminate against whites.
Solidarity deputy general secretary Dirk Hermann said on
Wednesday Woolworths had failed to retract advertisements for posts for which
only black candidates would be considered.
Solidarity sent a letter to Woolworths on Tuesday demanding
that advertisements exclusively open to "African blacks" or
"Africans, coloureds and Indians", be modified so people of all races
could be considered.
Hermann said the Woolworth's advertisements constituted
unfair race discrimination.
Solidarity's campaign: "Woolworse: Making a
differentiation", would be driven by social media and include protest messages
to Woolworths CEO Ian Moir.
"In the media, Woolworths argues that they are only
complying with affirmative action laws. However, the truth is that the
Employment Equity Act does not allow such exclusions," said Hermann.
Woolworths' operations officer Sam Ngumeni denied the
company was following racist recruitment processes.
"In order to meet our transformation commitments we use
various mechanisms, such as designation, to deliver on our Employment Equity
Plan, which is in line with the Employment Equity Act," he said.
The company remained open and transparent about which
vacancies were designated in its job advertisements.
"Jobs are only designated and preference indicated
where there is a need to address representation and ensure the diversity of our
teams. Other than that, all other jobs are open to applicants from all
demographic groups," he said.
Meanwhile Woolworths said it gave preference to some job
applicants to ensure diversity.
"Jobs are only designated and preference indicated
where there is a need to address representation and ensure the diversity of our
teams," the retailer's chief operating officer Sam Ngumeni said.
"Other than that, all other jobs are open to applicants
from all demographic groups."
The company rejected claims from trade union Solidarity that
its recruitment process was racially discriminatory. Ngumeni said all their
employment practices were in line with the Employment Equity Act.
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