The plight of white South Africans feeling the pressure of affirmative action was taken up on Tuesday by a seemingly unlikely benefactor in the form of the Inkatha Freedom Party.
Signing an accord with labour union Solidarity on non-discriminatory affirmative action, IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi said the absolute exclusion of whites from appointment and promotion opportunities should be avoided.
He expressed distress about white school achievers being denied bursaries on account of their skin colour, and said race should never become a determining factor in retrenchment.
”A country which allows this type of behaviour is not what I have fought for during 50 years of liberation struggle,” Buthelezi said in Pretoria.
”I have known all my life what it is like to be treated as a second-rate citizen … merely on account of the pigmentation of my skin, and I would not wish the same destiny on any other fellow South African.”
The accord, signed by Buthelezi and Solidarity CEO Flip Buys after two years of discussions, is aimed at developing a new code of good employment practice to which all South African employers would be bound.
The parties agreed that affirmative action is necessary to rectify past wrongs but should not be allowed to create new inequities.
Solidarity hopes to get more parties behind the accord in an ”equality alliance”, said spokesperson Dirk Hermann.
The code should eventually become part of labour legislation — hopefully by the beginning of next year.
Talks have also been held with the government, the ruling African National Congress, other labour bodies like the Congress of Soutrh African Trade Unions, the South African Communist Party and the business sector.
According to Buys, at least three more political parties are expected to lend their support to the effort in the next ”month or three”.
He said the process is aimed at ”making South Africa a country for all who live in it — black and white”.
”The racism of the past and the negative consequences thereof must be corrected, but this will make no sense if new forms of racism are created.”
Merely replacing whites faces with black ones is not only discriminatory, but also prejudicial to the country in terms of a loss of know-how and experience, Buys said.
”This is an important step forward in developing a new consensus, not about the principle, but about its fair implementation.”
Buthelezi criticised those who choose to ignore the unintended consequences of affirmative action.
”… there are people who are willing to close their eyes to the problems arising out of our polices, because what they see would force them to say things which are politically incorrect.”
A working committee has been set up between the IFP and Solidarity to work out the details of the proposed code of good practice.
The first step will be consulting research groups and legal experts on the drafting of the code — which will be submitted in the end to Parliament’s portfolio committee on labour for consideration.
Buthelezi and Buys denied the announcement has any bearing on the coming general election. Solidarity has decided not to align itself to any political party.
According to Buthelezi, the IFP and Solidarity have much in common — both are committed to solving workers’ problems.
The accord also paves the way for broader dialogue with Solidarity on issues such as mother-tongue education and cultural self-determination, he added. — Sapa