saywhat

I am sorry to say that up till now, I was blissfully unaware of what Employment equity really meant. So after a little research, here is my take on the situation.
Summary of the Employment Equity Act, 55 of 1998, issued in terms of
Section 25(1)
The purpose of the Act is to achieve equity in the workplace, by
a. promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through
the elimination of unfair discrimination; and
b. implementing affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages
in employment experienced by designated groups, to ensure their
equitable representation in all occupational categories and levels in the
workforce.
No prblems so far
1.2 Application of the Act: Section 4
d. A designated group means black people, women, or people with
disabilities.
Think I got it
2. Chapter 2 - Prohibition of Unfair Discrimination
2.1 No person may unfairly discriminate, directly or indirectly, against an
employee in any employment policy or practice, on one or more grounds
including race, gender, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibility, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, HIV status,
conscience, belief, political opinion, culture, language, and birth.
2.2 It is not unfair discrimination to promote affirmative action consistent with the Act or to prefer or exclude any person on the basis of an inherent job requirement.
Point 2.2 might make some see red
3. Chapter 3 – Affirmative Action
3.1 Duties of a Designated Employer:
a. A designated employer must implement affirmative action measures for
designated groups to achieve employment equity.
note must!!!!
3.2 Affirmative Action measures: Section 15
a. Affirmative action measures are measures intended to ensure that
suitably qualified employees from designated groups have equal
employment opportunity and are equitably represented in all
occupational categories and levels of the workforce.
This is where it gets sticky. What is suitably qualified? All those "against", put your hands up for "experience". All those "for" put your hands up for "qualification". (ie. Com or ALTP
b. Such measures must include:
• identification and elimination of barriers with an adverse
impact on designated groups;
• measures which promote diversity;
• making reasonable accommodation for people from
designated groups;
• retention, development and training of designated
groups (including skills development); and
• preferential treatment and numerical goals to ensure
equitable representation. This excludes quotas.
Note "preferential treatment"
c. Designated employers are not required to take any decision regarding an
employment policy or practice that would establish an absolute barrier to
prospective or continued employment or advancement of people not
from designated groups
This is where I feel for all the white guys out there who can't get into SAA due to employment quotas. Their arguement is sound that there are just no more black faces to employ
3.6 Employment Equity Plan: Section 20
a. A designated employer must prepare and implement a plan to achieve
employment equity, which must:
• have objectives for each year of the plan;
• include affirmative action measures;
• have numerical goals for achieving equitable
representation;
• have a timetable for each year;
• have internal monitoring and evaluation procedures,
including internal dispute resolution mechanisms; and
• identify persons, including senior managers, to monitor
and implement the plan.
Wheather SAA and other companies have done this, I can't comment, as I don't know
This is an extract from an act of parliment, and is by no means the whole ducument. It is law, and companies have to follow the letter of the law.

Shrike200

And let me throw in my 2c....

Afriviation:

a) I'm a white African - GET OVER IT.
b) I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH APARTHEID (too young)
c) Despite which, I get to watch less experienced people get into our national carrier ahead of me. I just have to suck it down, because thats current policy.

And I will suck it down, and still make a success of my career. Despite my having nearly a decade in the industry, you're in a better job than I am, all because of affirmative action. What, did you think you should be a Captain of a 300+ passenger airliner by now?! Just wait dude, the numbers will come. Experience takes TIME to build up. Likewise, with a greater number of black middle class people, there will be young black students with a passion for aviation who put in the time. When I see a couple of young black Grade II instructors putting in the hours at LFC, 43, or CFA then I'll know they're doing what we all do...

And the arguments against Zim instructors etc are valid - it's not because they're black, we just think it's highly likely that they'll suck badly. NOT because they're black, but because of the shambles Zim is in. And you can't tell me that the lowering of examination and test standards in the SAAF is a good thing can you?

KESHO

Bwana Afriviation,

GREAT POST! Has been discussed loads of times in the past, but obviously some issues are still quite volatile. I agree with your view that the split of white/black pilots is not as it should be. Both sides of the debate have had valuable points. But I find it scary to read so many replies that are mere personal insults even though we are living in the year 2006 already.

I am a white non-African male pilot.

Here is my two cells worth:
The reality of the issue is that South Africa as a country has not matured enough yet, which is only understandable owing to its history, to a level where a post such as yours could be posted without receiving as much criticism. The vast amount of replies proves this.

I fully agree with you that the current white/black ratio is not correct. But also would like to state that there is no shortcut route to gain experience. The system that has been enforced in the country regarding the employment equity is possibly not the best way to go about it. The whole problem is due to the aftermath of the apartheid era. It will take generations for things to get rectified.

Your post could have been aimed at just about any professional field (Doctors, Lawyers, and Architects etc.) within South Africa and the split would have been pretty much the same. These things my friend take time!
The continent is a great place to live in for its nature and weather, but it holds lots of issues that still need to be resolved. One must stop dwelling in the past and look into the future. One will not be able to move on until he has forgiven. It is always easier to apologise then to accept apology, but it is essential!

If Denmark, one of the most liberal and multi-cultured countries in the world and a 100% literacy rate has the current problems from only a newspaper cartoon about another nations belief, I think that South Africa with its 11 official languages and different peoples still has a long road ahead.

Thanks to your post things get discussed and people get to put themselves in others shoes.

Why cant Stevie Wonder read?
It is not because he is black…

K

Jetstream_lover

Dear Afriaviation,
I do not post much on PPRUNE, and when i do, i dont really get involved in politics! I can not really understand what you are going to acheive by your current posting, this is PPRUNE and you are not going to be able to change much. You speak about Direct entry Cadets being a threat to 'Pale Males', have you ever thought about the consequences of having a crew on the flightdeck which are not up to the standard (this is not just in africa, but in many other parts of the world). You speak about pale males who only get jobs due to who they know, once again, i know plenty of aviators pale, not so pale, and half pale who have battled for a long time to get the glorious first job (often underpaid, treated like dog poo and expoited like a worker in a Bombay sweatshop!!) You speak about Black pilots not going to the same bars with there pale male comrades, rubbish, i know from my experience and others that this issimply not the case. There are many good black pilots out there, and some not so good, as there is with any aviation fraternity in the world, some good, some not. I hate to say it, but there difference between Kenyan aviation etc, is that in many of these countries those pilots work up to KQ (airline) standards after being on 206's, Vans, Twotters, Kings Airs etc.
In SAA they (the cadets) tend to bypass the years of hard work (and experience) and go straight into a very very sought after and serious job.
Please wind you neck in and think about what you are posting, if you carry one you are basically accusing every PMP (pale male pilot) of being fundamentally racist!!!!!
Yours with the best regards
PS-Carry on like this you could be the next Riccardo Volante, and nobody wants that buddy!

beechbum

I see mighty mouse has been really quiet today!!!
Slight change of topic but what happened to Riccardo Volante....was he banned for some reason or other?????

Afriviation

Hello Good People

Thanks for some of the latest insightful, objective and construcive responses. I wish to clarify some issues and send some points home here.

1. Standards
Some responses referred to maintaining Standards and so forth. Nowhere in my last posts whether directly or by implication did I purport the idea of lowering of standards. I am proud of the standards that have been set by the Aviation fraternity of this country and it is the same standards that I would like the non pales I'm dreaming of to maintain.
However it might mean that some of you imply that having non pales in the cockpit is lowering of standards by default.
A word of caution here though, Should some influential figure in the government notice this severe imbalance in this industry and decide to do something about it, then SA Aviation may be thrown into mayhem. One writer referred to the BEE procurement policies in engineering and it is this kind of Government intervention by some ignorant politician that could send the standards tumbling. I call upon Aviation comapnies to take a proactive approach to transformation and implement it to ensure complete control and prevent the degradation of Standards.

2. "It Takes Time"
I understand that transforming the industry will inevitably take time. My concern is that In SA it is taking more time than necessary. In my previous posts I made mention of the entire industry who have demonstrated inaction towards transformation in the last 12 years. I fear that these Companies would have done absolutely nothing in the next 12 years to come. Well this appoach is fatal as they are simply wishing it away. Doing so would be complying with the law as "say what" kindly shared with us the contents of the employment equity act.
The real problem is that SA Aviation does not have the commitment to transform. Countries that have this commitment have implemented time efficient measures to transfor their cockpits. Countries like Hong Kong (cathay), UAE (Emirates) Kenya (KQ) China etc have schemes that are 10 times faster than SA.

3. Government
Most replies suggested that I address my concerns to Governement. In principle that woud be an avenue, but I'm not sure it's the best one. Government has laid the framework in the form of laws etc. they have also implemented sponsorship schemes at their Aviation concerns i.e SAA and the Airfroce.
I do have a problem with how these schemes have been run. At SAA for example the Cadet Scheme is entrusted with a pale who used to Bomb MK bases in Angola. Naturally he is not committed to transformation. The statistics of that program which I'm not even going to quote are horrendous.
In the Airforce the pales were entrusted with Transformation and they also made a shambles out of it. Governement became sick and tired of the BS and harsher measures were put in lace which saw the exodus of some prejudiced Airforce officers. Those that remained were told to comply or leave. hence we found ourselves with the importation of Uncle Bob's pilots.
Now if Institutions in the direct control of Government are failing dismally because of the pales in charge there, what are the chances of pale owned Aviation Companies to implement any kind of transformation, I have to agree with you we wlll wait for a very long long time.

4. History

The legacy of apartheid cannot be left out in this debate. Most non pales do not even know that there's careers in Aviation. The only careers that are known are teaching nursing and so on. this can be attributed tot the system that kept them in the dark with most things in life. The first time I ever saw an aeroplane is when I was boarding one to the flying school my sponsor was sending me to. I never aspired to be a pilot from kindergarden. Flying for me at the time off course was a meal ticket. SOmeone started mentioning their personal circumstances as a pale. I never suggested that every pale person is rich. Neither did I suggest that this thread relates to my personal circumstances. Yes the fact of the matter is that there are more disadvantaged non pales, some of this even bordering on porverty. But that is a topic for another day.
Yes therefore there needs to be financial support to bring more non pales into aviation. In this day and age there are the more advantaged non pales who attend the so called "white" schools but guess what, these bright stars are snapped up by other business who know they have a duty by law to transform their Companies. SA Aviation simply hide behind "IT TAKES TIME" and find every possible excuse in under the sun why transformation is not happening
I wonder what will happen when labour inspectors start knocking on doors of aviation companies asking for their transformation scorecards. They'll probably be told "IT TAKES TIME".

It's interesting to see what pale South African Aviators think about transformation and hence the slow pace.

Shrike200

Hey Dude - the SAAF has, without doubt, clearly visible on black and white, lowered it's standards. That sucks, and things like that weaken your cause.

Shrike200

Oh, and last time I checked, there had been precious few (IF ANY AT ALL!) black pilots applying at Nationwide, for example - how are companies like that supposed to 'transform' if they don't have anybody to 'transform' with? All black pilots get snapped up by SAA, so even if it was possible for Nwide to suck some black pilots with suitable experience out of their thumb, they'd be gone within months, if not weeks. Not much business sense in that now, is there? And you're not going to see a tight with cash company like Nwide paying for a cadet scheme - again, it makes absolutely no business sense whatsoever when you've got a million and one experienced guys out there just waiting in the wings for their turn.

Business is business. Financial reality is just that, money doesn't grow on trees -regardless of whether you're black or white.

prospector

Summary of the Employment Equity Act, 55 of 1998, issued in terms of
Section 25(1)
The purpose of the Act is to achieve equity in the workplace, by
a. promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through
the elimination of unfair discrimination; and
b. implementing affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages
in employment experienced by designated groups, to ensure their
equitable representation in all occupational categories and levels in the
workforce.

Could someone please explain how you get equity in the workplace by implementing affirmative action??

You promote equal opportunity by implementing affirmative action?? Equal opportunity for all?? or a chosen majority?? now why was apartheid dropped?? was it just to change the colour of the players.

Is this what is meant by Promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment??

Does affirmative action in employment eliminate unfair discrimination??

Afrivation you answered your own question way back in your first post in this thread. First you need competent government, does this legislation come from competent Government??

Prospector.

birdlady

JG has a valid point. The government is not going to spent 100's of thousands of rands training 1 pilot when they could use the money to put a far greater amount of people through university.

The solution. Like the rest of us WORK FOR IT.

bad

As a matter of interest,please note what the affirmative action implemetation is permitted to do in terms of FAIR DISCRIMINATION.
The law provides for redress for an *employee who is subject to an unfair labour practice in the workplace.
An unfair labour practice includes any unfair act or omission that arises between an employer and employee, involving unfair discrimination, whether directly or indirectly, against an employee. (*employee includes an applicant for employment.)
Fair discrimination:
The law sets out four grounds on which discrimination is generally allowed-
i. Discrimination based on affirmative action;
ii. Discrimination based on the inherent requirement of a particular job;
iii. Compulsory discrimination by law; and
iv. Discrimination based on productivity
i. Discrimination based on affirmative action
Affirmative action measures are designed to promote employment equity (fairness in favour of the designated groups – blacks, women and disabled persons.) Affirmative action aims to achieve equality at work without lowering standards and without unduly limiting the prospects of existing employees, for example by getting rid of discrimination in company policies, procedures and practices. Its main aim is generally to ensure that the previously disadvantaged groups are fairly represented in the workforce of a particular employer.

ii. Discrimination based on the inherent requirements of a job
Any discrimination based on the inherent requirement of the particular job does not constitute unfair discrimination. An inherent requirement of a job depends on the nature of the job and required qualifications. If such requirements can be shown, discrimination will be fair, for example a person with extremely poor eyesight cannot be employed as an airline pilot.
iii. Fair compulsory discrimination by law
The law does not allow the employer to employ children under the age of 15 years, or pregnant women four weeks before confinement and six weeks after birth…
iv. Discrimination based on productivity
It is also fair by law for the employer to discriminate on the basis of productivity (for instance when giving merit based increases). This would of course be dependent on the fairness of the criteria utilized for assessing performance and productivity.
It is therefore correct for ALL employers to address the imbalances caused by our past by ensuring that designated groups are given a fair chance to penetrate this industry, especially those professions that were RESERVED for pales.
The transformation that needs to take place should not only be along the race representivity, but also along"the way we work". Unfortunately for all of us, those people that got preferential treatment pre 94 simply cannot imagine a world where there is a balance of anything. It is evident from the tone of some of the replies that there is a long way to go. The reason is simple: It has become the culture of most pales to see the advancement of any black as a major threat. So great is the feeling of insecurity that the capacity to stop and think, to observe, to adjust, to review to CHANGE is lost! Childhood indoctrination is indeed a powerful thing....more powerful than mere common sense!
it is true that the training of aviation personnel is very costly, and that perhaps there are so many competing priorities for the govt (like housing, education health etc) that it does not get the attention it deserves.(Please try to recall that these priorities are only there because the govt had to start from scratch on most issues of service delivery in 94....there was simply too little in place. What there was, was intended to serve and benefit a very small select portion of the population!....so well done ANC, THERE HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS PROGRESS!) but please aviators, give it a chance. DONT deliberately go out of your way to frustrate the process. STOP THE HATE!

bad

To Prospector:
It is true that the pales have had a head start. (even YOU must admit that!) In fact I think the statistic is that 80 percent of the wealth of RSA is controlled by about 9% of the population. That 9% is over 75% pale. In view of the obvious reluctance of the pales to accept change and do their bit to balance out these obvious skews....the government had to put in place some laws that compel everyone to act towards achieving EQUITY! Affirmative Action aims to do exactly that. As Afri said.....change willingly or it will be thrust upon us!In any case, if we stop the disrespect and the hate, we will sooner rather than later achieve sufficient transformation to not need the EE ACT. Believe me, black people are prepared to work hard for their stripes. They just dont understand why there is always so much negativity where their efforts are concerned. Incidentally, how would you suggest the government achieve a better balance of wealth, power, training oppotunities, jobs etc. Perhaps you have some thoughts that could be useful!

prospector

Bad,

bad To Prospector:
"It is true that the pales have had a head start. (even YOU must admit that!) "

Why??? have we been on this earth longer than anyone else to get this head start?? Or perhaps could it be that have we managed to produce people who, when they are in public office, use public money for what it was intended??? One of those being to produce places of learning for the people to bring all up to a higher standard, rather than sending the monies to a secret bank account?

To change the rules that have been proven over time to be successful, to fit in with what in effect is just to do away with hard work, dedication to get qualifications, as in the aviation world, and those others that rely on the law of physics, the laws dont change because of the colour of ones skin, they have to be learnt. There is no appeal court for mistakes due to lack of knowledge in the aviation world.

Oh, and by the way, you dont have to look far to the North to see why some people are concerned.
Prospector

Brian_Dunnigan

"However it might mean that some of you imply that having non pales in the cockpit is lowering of standards by default. "

"Most of the aircraft in this country are owned locally, some are dry leased from Europe and the rest of the world, then why can't most of the majority population groups of this country be seen flying these aircraft???"

"The notion of non pale pilots getting things the easy way is totally skewed. If it were not for these schemes there wouldn't be as much lack pilots as there are today, not because they are lazy but because Aviation is expensive more so for someone living in poverty."

"For now nothing much has been asked from the Aviation Community by the government. There are laws and everyone chooses to ignore (affrimative Action, BEE etc). The government has imposed its own schemes in the companies it has direct control over. Unfortunately some of these resources have been missappropriated by those wanting to retain the status quo and the progress has subsequently been put into reverse thrust."

These 4 quotes by you answer, or allude to answer, your own issues and questions about transformation.
I'll bet money that the majority of the population will vote for the status quo and that the same mob will be in power after the next general election.
Why is this so?
Because, Afri, the majority rules.That is, that the same guys and gals in office will make the same decision as they do now and despite you not liking their decisions, it is not up to private industry to change the way in which they do business if it means no profit and no worthwhile income.

Say ABC Ltd wants to estabish a cargo carrier to transport freight from JHB to KIN in DR Congo. Why should they risk millions on training people that may (and I emphasise may) not make it through the training when they can hire qualified pilots at no training cost to get money rolling in?

Standards are lost when people get "put through" a system because it is PC to do so.

I fly often near the Kimberley region of Oz and I want to know the guy or gal I'm with can do the job and get me down with cargo or pax safely and that we don't encounter the occasional tropical cyclone or other meteorological anomaly which does mean decisions have to be made.

Not all people are suited to this job either Afri, and with decreasing interest in Maths and Science in many nations around the globe, you have to admit the pool of talent is drying up!

You still have not answered whether you will be or are supporting someone to get into the industry.

Until you have done this, then I really don't think that you are serious and are just rabble-rousing.

As for the other posts about your views being in the wrong forum and going to MPs and/or Parliament, they are spot on, but you already know what your answer will be if you tried to speak to the comrades, eh?

Lighten up, Afri, you have a great opprtunity to show some kid that aviation is a go for them, but I'm doubting whether you'll follow through...

cavortingcheetah

Oh what fun!!
Someone has raised the old hoary chestnut that 10% of the population control 90% of the wealth. So absolutely what? This is the state of affairs in almost any country in the world, even in the Communist rump. It is a completely normal economic occurence and is therefore a drum of hollow beating.
You're not going to get a mass of suitable black candidates for pilotage candidacy until there is a black middle class sufficiently affluent and educated from which to recruit such quality individuals.
The last thing that the emerging black wealthy want is a developing middle class. This statement holds true whether such riches have been honestly gained or not. The middle class is a dangerous beast to those who belt down the Nicoll Highway in black BMWs on their way to Investment Cars. No Communist state has ever done anything with the middle class except to attempt to exterminate it. Remove the intellectuals and the dismemberment of that strata of society commences!
Oh no indeed - It is far less to the advantage of the black on the make that there should be a middle class than it is to the white who has already reached a position of affluence. In the latter case, he needs a middle class to sustain him in the position of economic stability which he has already attained. In the former case, the establlishment of a black middle acts as an ABS on the rise to untold riches in the new South Africa. The middle classes do not like the rich and, unlike the poorer classes, they have the means to make life very difficult for those intent on self aggrandisement.
It is not correct to blame the white man for the suppression of the formation of a middle class, the one social development which would ensure the success and true equality in all respects for the black in Africa. Some of you should look within your own ranks for the culprits. I'll wager that those with the most new wealth, those who milk and drain the country, whose relatives have taken the most advantage of the nepotistic opportunities available in this new South Africa are amongst those who most fear the rise of the dreaded middle class!
(Dear Moderators,
Sorry, I cannot see the need to pussy foot around with pales, non pales, half pales or even empty buckets as a euphemism for those who might be mentally challenged. No offence is intended by the use of black and white and I should think it a shame if it were taken.)

Afriviation

Well Prospector need I remind you that the average person in this country had land, livestock, dignity and culture until some people docked on our shores and robbed them of everything they had, made them second class citizens and enslaved them.

Next time you wonder how the pales got this headstart, you must know it was from theft and exploitation and that applies to the rest of Africa.

Nobody is asking for the return of the stolen goods. Non Pales also need to partake in the fun filled activities like flying. They are capable of flying planes and maintaining standards remeber the Tuskegee Airmen.

I do not dispute that most of you would prefer the minority to rule. That will not happen. the minority is far too greedy, they want things for themselves and themselves only. You just have to look at the responses to this thread. People moan endlessly at the government having sponsored non pale Cadets and these cadets being placed at SAA and so forth. So much has been taken away from these humble people. Something has to be given back.
I have no issues with the government, yes they have their flaws like any other government but they've given to the non pale people more opportunity than the pale gaovernment had done in 40 years of ruling this country in just 12 years.

But BD what happens in schemes like SAA and the Airforce is that they are entrusted to pales who because they are not true to the cause, ensure that these schemes do not produce the significant numbers governement could have hoped for. Imagine for example if you could get prospector to run a cadet scheme. He would make sure that as few non pales as possible make it through or even use the funds to sponsor more pale people.

C'mon people everybody deserves a slice of the cake, be liberal and start sharing.

Knoppiesdoorn

According to the news report last night, The President has appealed for the SA pale faces in New Zealand to return, as we need them/ skills.

In the same news bulletin, we saw fotos of a once flourishing farm: now a just a scrapheap and dead trees being chopped up for fire wood. I hear that in the north the failure rate of farms, handed over, are a 100 %.

But according to Afriviation we are moving too slow.......... pray that we never have to see dead bodies on the ground as we saw the dead orange trees.

Time is a great healer..........patience, pse.

cavortingcheetah

I very much doubt that either Shaka Zulu who destroyed the clan structure in Natal or Mzilikazi, for that matter, would agree with you that something has to be given back to the conquered by the conqueror.
Black tribal history hardly has a record of charitable reparation.
Why then, you cannot expect the white man, having been victorious in your eyes, to adhere to a different code of reimbursive conduct than you would historically expect to find from your own kind.

The Tuskegee Airmen? A noble bunch of warriors who contributed much in spite of the fact that they were trained at segregated facilites. Patriotism is a word that springs to mind when reflecting upon their sacrifices.
I wonder why there would appear to be a paucity of scholarships such as 'Young Eagles' or youth programmes established by the newly rich enfranchised ones to advance the talented ones within their own cultural identity. No matter; I have my doubts that philanthropy was a characterisitic of those tribes which, moving southwards some hundreds of years ago, virtually exterminated the Bushmen in order to seize their land for grazing. The Boer too did his bit. After the Bushman crumbled before the Hottentot so the Hottentot crumbled before the Boer but that persecution was not so much because the Hottentot was black and savage but rather because he was a pagan. The Hottentot, as well as the Boer, hunted the Bushman for sport. All quite inexcusable! But so goes history down its murky path.

In order to advance the progress of blacks in the field of aviation, or any other for that matter, I would look to the creation of charitable foundations on the part of those individuals or groups that have benefited so much from the policy of black empowerment, which is even now, to a certain degree, destroying overseas confidence in investment programmes in South Africa.
I rather think that those who have recently gouged out chunks of the cake should start sprinkling a few crumbs at the feet of their own.

Solid Rust Twotter

What I see here from Afriman and Bad is a lot of unsabstantiated claims about how white folks want to see blacks downtrodden and denied an equal place in society. That chip on your shoulder is blocking your view of reality, guys. Level playing fields mean just that - Level, no discrimination. Unfortunately, what you seem to want is a fast track to everything and life just doesn't work that way. Social engineering has failed pretty much everywhere it's been tried, SA for one and now you want to start that crap all over again? Come on, think about it... We've just ditched one lot of problem children and now you want to play that game all over again. Allow things to reach and maintain a natural balance and it should run a lot more smoothly. AA should only be practiced in cases where qualifications of both parties being acceptable for the job, the previously disadvantaged candidate should get preference. The current policy of putting people in positions of authority because they have the correct pigmentation, rather than qualifications is wrong. I'm not referring to aviation here so don't go off half cocked. The aviation sector appears somewhat out of kilter with what's goin on in the rest of the country for this very reason. Certain qualifications and standards are required and any black person who has them is immediately snapped up by the national carrier. Unfortunately, getting those qualifications is a long, hard road as has been stated previously and the remuneration isn't on par with the effort put in, thus a lot of likely candidates are taking a different career path and only those with a real passion or daddy's money are succeeding. I have no problem working with black colleagues and I'm pretty sure most white folks don't either, but being passed over in favour of a less qualified individual after years of dedication, whether black or white, doesn't sit well with people. If the qualifications are in place there's no problem employing or promoting that person and if a black candidate takes preference over a white candidate, not a problem, as long as there is an equitable level of experience and know how. Promoting or employing someone blatantly inexperienced and unqualified as has been the norm in some sectors only fosters resentment and an atmosphere of disharmony. I've taken the rap to cover a black colleague who screwed up in Kenya and he later became the Chief Pilot of the outfit we worked for. I have no problem with that. He learnt from his mistake, got over it and got on with it. As a captain I felt it wasn't a wasted lesson. He didn't sit pissing and moaning about how unfair things were, but put more effort into improving the weak areas and it paid off.

Two wrongs don't make a right and SA is perilously close, if not already in the middle of repeating past mistakes.

Come on guys, wake up. Your hatred for the white man is clouding your judgement. (Now I'm playing your little unsubstantiated assumption game. Gets up your nose, doesn't it....?)

cavortingcheetah

A most sound, measured and erudite judgement from Planet Tharg!
Leaves me in almost the Oscar Wildean state of:
'I wish I had said that.'