SAA Captain fired for racist remark
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My family has been in Africa for almost 400 years. I feel offended when the ruling party cal me a settler. And when the President and the A.N.C. Youth Legue sing " Bring my machine gun" and "kill the settler , kill the boer. Winny stand on a public platform and say "one bullet one settler", why re they surprised when people still use the k word.
I have ben called a Mazungu, a Gweilo, a Farang and guess what, I can live with it.
does k and aboriginal not have the same meaning in the dictionary? does it not mean " indigenous person?
I have ben called a Mazungu, a Gweilo, a Farang and guess what, I can live with it.
does k and aboriginal not have the same meaning in the dictionary? does it not mean " indigenous person?
... how could they fire this bloke when one of the most senior government officials in the ANC, yes lovely mista Malema has been running round the country singing roughly translated "kill the white man"...
scarrymike, if you are "coming to Africa soon" I trust that you are prepared for a bit of an education.
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The feedback is that because he used it in private and generalised the statement that the disciplinary hearing panel, chaired by a white female, thought this to be worse than if he had directed it at the individual.
On realising his faux pas, the captain apologised immediately (if this forum is to be believed) but this being the South Africa of today, it seems the Techy saw the opportunity to nail the dude and jumped at it with all the force he could muster. One down, a few million to go!
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Education?
Education, I don't need no stinking education.... heck I know every thing about Africa cus I read every Wilbur Smith book he has written, plus King Solomen mines, West with the Night, Jock of the Bushveld...
Point taken - I'll keep an open mind and thanks for answering my question.
Point taken - I'll keep an open mind and thanks for answering my question.
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The problem here is not the k word or n.....r,or h.....y word,its the reasoning behind deciding to use the word.
H....ey was developed by black people to counteract the n....r word,so it follows that it will be less dramatic been used by black to white,but unacceptable.
Now when a black calls a black by the n word,the reasoning is different from when a white calls a black n or k word,at least in most cases.
The Captain here had a wide choice of non-racial abusive words like "prick,as..le,id..ot,dimwit e.t.c,so his choice was well thought out,or so he thought.
Anyways if your co policy forbids it,then abide by it,but firing him,a bit dramatic in my own opinion,since it was not to his face.
Its a nightmare this hotmic thingy.
H....ey was developed by black people to counteract the n....r word,so it follows that it will be less dramatic been used by black to white,but unacceptable.
Now when a black calls a black by the n word,the reasoning is different from when a white calls a black n or k word,at least in most cases.
The Captain here had a wide choice of non-racial abusive words like "prick,as..le,id..ot,dimwit e.t.c,so his choice was well thought out,or so he thought.
Anyways if your co policy forbids it,then abide by it,but firing him,a bit dramatic in my own opinion,since it was not to his face.
Its a nightmare this hotmic thingy.
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from elsewhere on the net
A senior SAA captain is facing dismissal after using a racist remark while dealing with a ground technician.
The highly experienced pilot was sitting in the cockpit of the aircraft when he used the k-word over the interphone system with the ground, which, unbeknown to him, was live.
The ground technician, who was in communication with the flight deck, heard the remark.
SAA's head of corporate communications, Fani Zulu, confirmed yesterday that the incident had occurred in June and that a hearing had been held.
"The process is nearing completion and a decision will be taken in the next few days. Meanwhile, the pilot, who was grounded, was on full pay, which was stopped on Friday," said Zulu.
Captain John Harty, chairman of the SAA Pilots' Association (Saapa), said yesterday that although it did not condone racist remarks and that sanction was justified, it was felt that, under the circumstances, the recommendation of dismissal was too harsh.
"The captain had been flying for more than 16 hours and had had technical problems in Accra prior to departure," said Harty. "After arriving at OR Tambo Airport following a long night flight, the crew were waiting for a ground power unit to be attached to the aircraft before shutting down its power systems. Problems were experienced by ground engineers, which delayed the shutdown and offloading of passengers."
Harty said that, in his frustration, the captain, who has been with the airline for 23 years, made the remark. He immediately apologised to the engineer and later went to the management offices where he admitted the remark.
At the disciplinary hearing three weeks ago, he apologised to the technician and the men shook hands.
Nevertheless, the presiding officer recommended dismissal.
Harty said the technician was a member of the SA Transport and Applied Workers' Union, which had agreed to send a letter to SAAPA, as a joint appeal to management, against what was viewed as an overly harsh decision.
Harty said SAAPA would appeal to the CEO for clemency for the pilot. "We are also addressing numerous procedural irregularities which occurred concerning the hearing."
He added that, with over 800 pilots at SAA, this was the first incident of its kind in 16 years, which indicated that racism was not endemic in the airline.
The highly experienced pilot was sitting in the cockpit of the aircraft when he used the k-word over the interphone system with the ground, which, unbeknown to him, was live.
The ground technician, who was in communication with the flight deck, heard the remark.
SAA's head of corporate communications, Fani Zulu, confirmed yesterday that the incident had occurred in June and that a hearing had been held.
"The process is nearing completion and a decision will be taken in the next few days. Meanwhile, the pilot, who was grounded, was on full pay, which was stopped on Friday," said Zulu.
Captain John Harty, chairman of the SAA Pilots' Association (Saapa), said yesterday that although it did not condone racist remarks and that sanction was justified, it was felt that, under the circumstances, the recommendation of dismissal was too harsh.
"The captain had been flying for more than 16 hours and had had technical problems in Accra prior to departure," said Harty. "After arriving at OR Tambo Airport following a long night flight, the crew were waiting for a ground power unit to be attached to the aircraft before shutting down its power systems. Problems were experienced by ground engineers, which delayed the shutdown and offloading of passengers."
Harty said that, in his frustration, the captain, who has been with the airline for 23 years, made the remark. He immediately apologised to the engineer and later went to the management offices where he admitted the remark.
At the disciplinary hearing three weeks ago, he apologised to the technician and the men shook hands.
Nevertheless, the presiding officer recommended dismissal.
Harty said the technician was a member of the SA Transport and Applied Workers' Union, which had agreed to send a letter to SAAPA, as a joint appeal to management, against what was viewed as an overly harsh decision.
Harty said SAAPA would appeal to the CEO for clemency for the pilot. "We are also addressing numerous procedural irregularities which occurred concerning the hearing."
He added that, with over 800 pilots at SAA, this was the first incident of its kind in 16 years, which indicated that racism was not endemic in the airline.
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At the disciplinary hearing three weeks ago, he apologised to the technician and the men shook hands.
Nevertheless, the presiding officer recommended dismissal.
Nevertheless, the presiding officer recommended dismissal.
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A white lady. Almost all those that want him dismissed are women funny enough. None of them have taken the trouble to consider what might have led to this incident, and they don't understand the fatigue and frustration that can be experienced by long haul pilots when operating in Africa.
Since when do you get fired for calling someone less senior than you a name. Fine them, or demote them, but not fire them. A warning wasn't even issued to him which is contrary to the SAA Regulating Agreement.
The case of the airways captain that hit (wasn't really a hit, but more of a strong tap) the cabin attendant, and also taxied the A340 off the runway after being told by the FO to stop how many times, keeps her job.
Since when do you get fired for calling someone less senior than you a name. Fine them, or demote them, but not fire them. A warning wasn't even issued to him which is contrary to the SAA Regulating Agreement.
The case of the airways captain that hit (wasn't really a hit, but more of a strong tap) the cabin attendant, and also taxied the A340 off the runway after being told by the FO to stop how many times, keeps her job.
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This is terrible news, absolutely horrific that the Cptn got fired. He is surely protected by the same union as that which brought about the charge and is thus therefore surely afforded the right to Appeal.
As mentioned the "Julius's" of this world can spout off but that's another story.
As mentioned the "Julius's" of this world can spout off but that's another story.
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Education
"Education, I don't need no stinking education.... heck I know every thing about Africa cus I read every Wilbur Smith book he has written, plus King Solomen mines, West with the Night, Jock of the Bushveld..."
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Harty said in the story in the Sunday Times yesterday: "SAAPA would appeal to the CEO for clemency for the pilot. We are also addressing numerous procedural irregularities which occurred concerning the hearing."
This gives me hope that in fact he may have grounds for appeal. That, and the fact that SATAWU is backing the call for leniency.
This gives me hope that in fact he may have grounds for appeal. That, and the fact that SATAWU is backing the call for leniency.
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Quote:
Because this is the way of Africa today ... here ... now. Get used to it. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is going to change it. Look north to the Zimbawe of today, and you will see the South Africa of tomorrow. The ethos is already well entrenched in SA, it is just taking a while to really become obvious. But, it is coming, you can't stop it, so live with it or leave (if you can .....). Once the economy goes over the edge, due to mishandling, incompetence, corruption, nepotism, and all the other traits that are so well practised on the Dark continent, then you really will wonder what the hell happened.
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Well now, revenge is the most destructive of all the emotions, but sweet isn't it? We all know the adage "Revenge is a dish best served cold". Well guess what? They are going to serve it frozen! Watch this space......
Because this is the way of Africa today ... here ... now. Get used to it. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is going to change it. Look north to the Zimbawe of today, and you will see the South Africa of tomorrow. The ethos is already well entrenched in SA, it is just taking a while to really become obvious. But, it is coming, you can't stop it, so live with it or leave (if you can .....). Once the economy goes over the edge, due to mishandling, incompetence, corruption, nepotism, and all the other traits that are so well practised on the Dark continent, then you really will wonder what the hell happened.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Well now, revenge is the most destructive of all the emotions, but sweet isn't it? We all know the adage "Revenge is a dish best served cold". Well guess what? They are going to serve it frozen! Watch this space......
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Isn't it a sad day when total incompetence is less of an offence than a bit of name calling. For the record, I'm a white male and you can call me any name you like. I just don't give a s***. Imagine all the Aussies getting fired for calling us Saffers (which coincidently rimes with K*****).
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To me it looks like payback time.
To fire someone for that is complete bullcrap.
Yes he should be reprimanded. But to that extreme.
I hope that the Pilots Union does something!!!
To fire someone for that is complete bullcrap.
Yes he should be reprimanded. But to that extreme.
I hope that the Pilots Union does something!!!