Dear Dirk

You have often proven that you can state your case before a hostile audience, but this time, with your first appearance at the annual Labour Law Conference, they had the better of you.

It's a pity, because the message you want to convey is a most, most important one. It's just that you haven't gone about it in the right way; especially not before an audience such as this one.

The conference has been held for the past 27 years. During the apartheid years, it was one of the most important strategy meetings of the trade union movement and lawyers for whom justice is more important than money.

In those days it formed part of the annual meetings held by the anti-apartheid movement within the country. Today, this meeting of expert lawyers and legal professionals, who work for trade unions, those in private practice and academics has almost become a tradition. It presents them with an opportunity to exchange thoughts on and share information about legal issues in a fairly informal yet serious way, and to predict what the future holds in this regard.

Because of its nature Solidarity has never been part of this circle. This is another pity especially because this movement in so many respects has transformed itself from being a disgraceful product of job reservation to one of the most innovative and sophisticated organisations in the labour market.

The topic was rethinking affirmative action in our young country.

You told Renate Barnard's sad story with humour. It was impossible for the audience to miss the absurdities of what you call the "tyranny or representivity". No one could fault that argument.

The problem is what you did not say. 

I think you, and any other white person who wants to say anything about affirmative action in our county, should begin by pointing out that, for the past 20 years, the unemployment rate among white South Africans has consistently been below 7%. And during the boom of 2003 until the big crash in 2008 it was less than 5% at times.

That's full employment.

There isn't really such a thing as white unemployment in South Africa - notwithstanding affirmative action. Here, unemployment rates among white people are lower than in Europe's richest countries and in the two Americas. 

The implication is clear: If we grow, in other words if we create jobs, then it is growth achieved by means of affirmative action. Affirmative action equals growth. If our gross domestic product grows without job creation, it's not really economic growth. It's simply rich people who have become even richer.

The audience wanted you, being from Solidarity, to state this unequivocally, candidly and honestly.

This would have given a whole new context to your message about Renate Barnard, a context which would have acknowledged the rude realities in our country. Because, as we know, these days the average unemployment rate in our country is 25,5%. For Africans it is 28,5%.

That's according to the narrow definition. According to the broad definition, which also includes discouraged job seekers, the unemployment rate is 9,8% for white people and 39,9% for Africans. Analysts such as economists say the actual rate for Africans is probably closer to 50% because of the flaws in the sample by which the informal sector is measured.

By far, most of the delegates are Africans, Dirk. They know exactly what these figures mean in "practice". Almost all of them have family members who are "discouraged job seekers". I don't have such family. Neither do you in all probability. 

These brutal facts wouldn't have lessened the impact of the Renate Barnard story at all. For its tragedy is not the unfairness of the South African Police Service refusing her promotion a second time round because she is white. 

Yes, it was unfair, but it is unfairness the Constitution allows for reasons we all know. And the audience was upset with you because, in their eyes, you are disparaging those provisions in our constitution.

The absurdity is that the police abolished the post of officer for community relations when a suitable and qualified candidate of colour could not be found. There was no one in that huge conference hall who doubted that the policy urgently need officers of Barnard's calibre to dedicate themselves fulltime to community relations. Barnard was not the loser when, two months ago, she shut her laptop and started to work in the private sector. She is probably already earning more than what she used to earn in the police.

Just as much as Eskom needs experienced, dedicated maintenance experts, the police need Renate Barnards. 

Many state hospitals need experienced, trained and caring nursing staff even more. My dogs get better care at the vet than people sometimes get at state hospitals.

Eskom and the hospitals used to have the services of such staff members, but had lost their services. And the role affirmative action played in this regard is difficult to deny. 

The economy cannot grow without such people, and we cannot make progress with affirmative action.

That's why affirmative action needs a rethink. The organisers of the annual conference, too, believe so. That's why they had invited you to the conference, but things went awry.

It's a tough message because you can so easily create the impression that only white people are dedicated and competent, which is far from the truth. We indeed know why white people have qualifications and are experienced ... 

May it go better next time.

Kind regards

Jan

This is a translation of an article by Jan de Lange that first appeared, in Afrikaans, in Rapport newspaper.  

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