Cape Town - It was difficult to get promoted within the Correctional Services Department as a coloured person during apartheid – and it still is, says the department’s second-in-command in the Western Cape.
Freddie Engelbrecht, 52, a deputy regional commissioner, said on Wednesday some of his colleagues shortlisted only black African candidates when it came to appointing staff.
He was testifying in the Labour Court in a landmark case brought by Department of Correctional Services (DCS) employees who have taken the department to court over its employment equity plan as they believe they have been unfairly discriminated against when applying for promotions.
Initially there were five applicants in the case, but another five were added on Wednesday. The 10 are backed by trade union Solidarity, also a party in the court action.
Solidarity believes that the department’s employment equity plan is unfair and should be declared unlawful because its equity targets are in line with national, and not provincial, demographics.
Solidarity said coloured South Africans made up less than 10 percent of the national population, but 53 percent of the Western Cape population.
It said the judgment in the case “could change forever the face of affirmative action”.
On Wednesday Engelbrecht, employed by the department for nearly 31 years and who started as a junior warden, was called as the first witness. He said that during apartheid his promotion to a higher position had been hampered because “my matric in apartheid was equal to a white man’s Standard 8”.
“During apartheid it was very difficult to get promoted… Promotion was basically only for white persons... Now, post-apartheid, it’s also difficult.”
He said between December 6, 2011 and February 3 this year, 97 percent of those appointed in the department were “ethnic black” people. Engelbrecht did not specify if this was nationally or in the province.
When it came to filling vacant posts, Engelbrecht said a selection panel of up to six department members would shortlist candidates.
The panel was meant to take into consideration different race groups and gender.
However, Engelbrecht said: “You’ll find specific area commissioners who just shortlist black candidates. The majority of them only shortlist black candidates.”
Engelbrecht said at one stage he had been stationed in Gauteng and applied to be transferred to the Western Cape.
But the national commissioner said there were too many coloured people in the province.
Engelbrecht went to court and through a settlement reached on December 1, 2009, he was allowed the transfer.
He had later requested a meeting between himself, other colleagues, his then regional commissioner, James Smalberger, and the department’s national commissioner, Tom Moyane, to discuss employment equity.
At the meeting, on February 18, 2011, Engelbrecht said that after listening to his and other colleagues’ concerns, Moyane had appeared caring and said the department’s implementation of employment equity “was wrong”.
However, Engelbrecht said after Moyane returned to Pretoria he changed his tune, saying his understanding of the matter was different.
Engelbrecht and some colleagues later approached correctional services portfolio committee chairman Vincent Smith and provincial ANC leader Marius Fransman.
“We went to many politicians. We tried to find a solution. The idea we got (from them) was: This is a coloured issue. We don’t want to get involved.
“We said to them... It’s not a coloured issue... it’s a justice issue,” Engelbrecht said.
During cross-examination, Engelbrecht said he had applied for the position of deputy director-general and the outcome of that hinged on a Labour Court case. “I lodged a case based on racial discrimination. It reminds me of apartheid,” he said.
The case continues on Thursday. - Cape Times