South African Black Pilots

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Press Releases
September 12, 2007 - 08:47The truth about affirmative action in South Africa
The trade union Solidarity this week issued a document entitled The Truth about Affirmative Action in South Africa, in which it points out that transformation in South Africa has progressed much further than is generally accepted.
The report also shows why the Employment Equity Commission’s reports cannot serve as a basis for scientific deductions on employment equity in our country. The report was introduced at the Western Cape launch of Solidarity Deputy General Secretary Dr Dirk Hermann’s book The Naked Emperor – Why affirmative action has failed.
Despite their flawed scientific basis, the Employment Equity Commission’s own reports show that South Africa is much further along the road to transformation than the Commission’s own reports would suggest.
According to the report, black male representation at top management level has grown by 55,9% from 2001-2006; at senior management level by 44% and at professional and mid-management levels by 44%. Representation by white males declined by 22% at top management level, by 25% at senior management level and by 24% at professional and middle management level. White females were hardest hit. Their share of the labour market declined by 24% between 2001 and 2006. The share of white males in the labour market as a whole declined by 16%.
The Solidarity report shows that there are year on year variations of between 30% and 195% in the number of reports submitted by employers. Only about 28% - or approximately 1 540 out of an average of 5 478 reports – come from the same employers. This means that different years cannot be compared, since the data sets are so radically different. In addition, the Employment Equity Commission’s reports only cover approximately 9,28% of South African employees.
The Solidarity report used data from the Employment Equity Commission, the General Household Survey, a database of JSE directors, the South African Advertising Research Foundation studies on the black middle-class and reports by the Public Service Commission.
The Solidarity report found that many black-dominated employers failed to submit employment equity reports, which skews the information regarding employment equity. In 2005, 25 municipalities (including Tshwane and Johannesburg), 13 provincial departments and 19 national departments did not submit reports. Other institutions that did not submit reports include parliament and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
According to the South African Advertising Research Foundation, black representation in senior management increased from 8 766 to 28 658 between 1997 and 2006. In the same period, white representation declined from 30 876 to 22 758. The JSE currently lists 24% black directors. In the past 13 months the black middle class grew by an astonishing 30% and now numbers 2,6 million. At present there are more black diamonds than working whites and the buying power of the black diamonds amounts to R180 billion, i.e. 28% of South African buying power. On Wednesday, 12 September, Solidarity introduced a comprehensive report on white females and affirmative action at the public hearings of the parliamentary portfolio committee workplace discrimination. Place: Room v475, Parliament.
Dirk Hermann
Deputy General Secretary: Solidarity