This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.
AFP reports that about 2,000 members of Solidarity protested on Thursday against a plan by petrochemical company Sasol to allocate shares only to its black employees.
Solidarity, a trade union predominantly made up of whites, said that its 6,300 members working at Sasol’s plant in Secunda, Mpumalanga, felt “alienated” and “powerless”. Chief Executive Dirk Hermann said: “We can’t address an old system of exclusion by a future system of new exclusion. The question is, when does affirmative action and empowerment go too far? There must be parameters.” The union has demanded that the blacks-only share scheme be extended to include white workers or that an alternative scheme be developed. Banners at the march read “Stop racism at Sasol” and “Skin colour doesn’t determine my worth”. Sasol maintains that the new share scheme will empower members of previously disadvantaged communities in SA, where racial inequality remains high more than two decades after the end of apartheid rule. Senior executives accepted a list of demands from Solidarity. The company indicated in a statement: “With today’s demonstration, there was a temporary decrease in attendance by Solidarity members at our Secunda Operations. As a result, some of today’s planned activities were impacted. However, as previously stated, our contingency measures remain in place to minimise impact on our operations.”
- Read this report in full at BusinessLive
- Read Solidarity’s press statement at Solidarity News
- Read Sasol’s press statement at Politicsweb
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page